Star Wars: Balance of Power
by mrjop2
Summary: The decades of peace that the galaxy has enjoyed since the fall of the Empire is threatened by the return of an ancient Sith Master. The Jedi must unveil this new enemy before the galaxy is thrusted into a new war.
1. Chapter 1

_The galaxy had been enjoying a time of peace of prosperity, despite a growing distrust of the Galactic Freedom Alliance, built out of the remains of the once menacing Galactic Empire. The treaty between these two governments has been uneasy, at best, and has been threatened by the assassination of former Chief of State: Leia Organa Solo, and her husband: Ambassador Han Solo. _

_Five years have passed, but rumors continue to run amuck, that the GFA was responsible for the assassination, and the number of Senators joining the cause for war is growing rapidly. The Jedi's investigation has led them to track down a bounty hunter about to do business with a smuggler on the hot and dusty planet of Tatooine. _

**Chapter 1**

The desert sands of Tatooine were scorching hot by mid-day; the two suns were unrelentingly beating down on the sandy surface. Only those who were native to Tatooine had the resistance to endure the extreme heat. Those who had not grown up here, especially humans, had to keep covered from head to toe.

Walking through the village of Mos Eisley were your average scum and villains. The rotten smell of exhaust from speeders and the different animals was the common aroma here. Hundreds of giant beasts could be found roaming through the dusty streets at all times of the day.

A hooded figure drifted between the crowds as swiftly as the wind. As he passed a doorway leading to docking bay 12, a slug-like alien stepped out from the shadow. His wobbling yellow eyes focused on the other figure and with its slimy right tentacle-like hand, brought his communicator up to the tiny slit below its two nostril holes. He radioed his status in his native tongue and followed after his target.

The hooded figure continued on his way, either unaware of alien trailing him, or deeming him to be of little threat. The fact was that, he too, was following someone: a bounty hunter, who was responsible for the deaths of a couple very important people. The bounty hunter appeared to have the need to do some business with a smuggler; what he was purchasing from him, the hooded figure could not tell, nor did he care.

The hooded figure found the perfect spot to watch the transaction, without being noticed. He had no interest in killing the bounty hunter or the smuggler; he had to find a way of capturing his target without anyone getting hurt in the process. Disarming both men before shots were fired was going to be very difficult; the commotion that they were going to cause was going to make things worse, if this was not done swiftly and precisely.

The Bounty Hunter was in the middle of the dusty road, waiting for the smuggler to arrive. This was a puzzling move; a wise thug tended to do their business in a more secluded location, that or in a very busy cantina. The only reason for this was if he was luring the smuggler into a trap. The bounty hunter had to be planning to kill him. This became more apparent when two of his Trandoshan colleagues stepped out of the shadow.

The smuggler, apparently, was not intelligent enough to realize this, as he came to their agreed spot. In his hand was a steel case that was big enough to fit an droid's head. Despite all the signs that this was a trap, he was still going through with this deal.

The bounty hunter had a grin on his face as the smuggler placed the case on the ground between them."You've brought the shipment, excellent! You really do live up to your reputation, Gideon Mars."

"I take pride in my work, Ty-kra'. It doesn't matter what it is; if you want it, I can get it."

"So I've heard." Ty-Kra nodded to the man on his right, who reached down for the case.

"Hey, you don't trust me or something? I'm hurt!"

The bounty hunter hissed. He was a Trandoshan with a very bad attitude; get him riled and one could lose a limb. The only other species that could match their ferocity was a Wookie. It came to no surprise that the two species did not get along together. Many believed their bad blood went as far back as the clone wars, maybe even earlier.

"Like I said, you live up to your reputation, but there ARE rumors that you are nothing more than a con-artist."

"Now, Ty-kra', you can't believe everything you hear? Besides, with our last meeting, has not my shipment of hand generators been legit?"

"Yes, they have," Ty-kra' admitted as he glanced over to his man who opened the case and inspected the cargo. He held up a small Coraxian crystal. He nodded his approval as he tossed it back into the case, shut it closed.

"These, indeed, appear to be genuine."

The hooded figure stood ready to pounce from his hiding place. If the trap was going to be unleased, then it was about to happen, now that the exchange had taken place. He was posed to make his move when the alien that had been tailing him made his move first. The slug-like alien pointed his blaster just inched from the back of his head. In his native language, he issued his demand for his surrender. "(Hands up, slowly!)"

The hooded figure flicked his wrist upward, and the next thing the alien knew, and invisible force ripped the gun from his hands. "(You're a Jedi!)"

Without replying the Jedi flicked his other wrist, which threw the slimy alien into a wall. Returning his attention to the task at hand, Ty-Kra' and his two henchmen already had their guns drawn.

"Now wait just a minute! Let's be adults about this; the price is certainly up for negotiation," Gideon stammered as he took a few steps backwards with his hands raised over his head.

"Sorry, but we're being paid quite handsomely to make sure you don't leave here alive; besides, the galaxy would be better off without scum like you."

Before he could pull the trigger, the gun fought against him and flew out of his hands. He and his comrades spun around to see the hooded Jedi standing before them. He stood there with his face and hands hidden in the cloak. His posture served as their warning to surrender or face the consequences of their actions.

"He's a Jedi! Kill him, you fools!"

His two fellow Trandoshans fired their blasters at the Jedi, who instantly had his lightsaber in hand and reflecting the blasts to the side with his violet blade. Raising his right palm, the two Trandoshans had their weapons abandon them as well. "Sorry to break it to you, boys, but this Jedi is not a 'he'."

The Jedi ripped off the cloak to reveal a young human woman on the other side of the violet blade. Her icy blue eyes stared down at all three of the Trandoshans without a single ounce of fear to be seen. The smirk on her face displayed a tinge of cockiness; there was no short of confidence in her demeanor. The color of her blade reflected brightly off her silky pure-black hair, which lightly swayed in the Tatooine sandy breeze.

"Ty-Kra, by the authority given of the New Republic, you are under arrest."

"How did the Jedi find ussth?" The Trandoshan to Ty-Kra's right whispered in his weaker grasp of the Galactic Basic language.

"Silence," he snapped harshly. He eyed his gun laying in the dust just a leap away. There was no way he was going to allow the Jedi to capture him alive.

With nothing to lose, Ty-kra' pounced for his gun and fired frantically at the Jedi. With her quick reflexes, she easily deflected all three shots. Reaching out with the Force, she ripped the gun out of his hands, yet again, and throwing it up onto the rooftop of a two-story, sandy-stone hut.

The two Trandoshan henchmen charged the lady Jedi with their giant muscles bulging, and their razor sharp claws stretched out. The one to her right came out swinging, trying to rip the Jedi to shreds. Instead, she side-stepped the attack with ease.

Ty-Kra' hissed at the sudden turn of events. Trying to avoid capture from a Jedi Knight was near impossible. Next to a wrathful Wookie, a fully trained Jedi Knight was the only prey that Trandoshans tend to stray from. He must be cursed to have had to run into one right when he was in the middle of working towards acquiring the biggest bounty in his professional career.

While his partners had the Jedi distracted, Ty-Kra' thought this would be the perfect time to kill the smuggler. He spun around to position himself for a lunging kill, but his prey was nowhere to be seen. In the distraction of the Jedi's arrival, the coward had slithered away. This was not good; his employer was not one to forgive failure.

The two henchmen started to get their act together and synchronize their efforts in hopes to overwhelm the Jedi. However, even that proved to be futile, when she just used the Force and to throw them away from her. A physical fight against her was not going to give them any better of a chance of escaping.

With no current need for her weapon, the Jedi turned off the lightsaber and attached it to her belt. With the guidance of the Force, she leaped into sky, landing between the two stunned Trandoshans, who were still on their hands and knees. The one to her right went for her shins with a wild, but violent swipe of his sharp claw. To save herself from a potential devastating attack, she did a mid-air cartwheel over the attacking Trandoshan. Landing on his other side, she kicked him in the ribs with just enough strength to put his face back in the dust.

The other Trandoshan was nearly back on his feet by this time. To correct that, she stepped on the back of the Trandoshan on the ground and leaped towards the other, who only just realized that she was coming at him. As she flew towards his other side, she smashed her elbow into his scaly snout, stunning him long enough for her to land and kick the back of his knee cap. He collapsed backwards onto the ground.

The Jedi turned her attention to Ty-kra'. "Now, you are going to come with me to Coruscant.

Ty-Kra' hissed, knowing that he was beat. If this young, female Jedi could take on his two comrades, then he had very little change against her, alone. To have been manhandled by just one being was very dishonoring. He'd never be welcomed back to his home world again.

Just as fast as fate had dealt him an unfavorable hand, the tide had turned once again. Storming towards them was an army of Galactic Freedom Alliance forces. As long as he was not their target, he may have a chance to get out of this and complete his job. He had done nothing to offend the GFA, so he could not image that he was their target, but again, The Jedi seemed even less likely.

The Jedi turned to see an entire battalion of GFA soldiers positing themselves in front of her and the bounty hunter. She had to assume that they were after Ty-Kra' as well. She raised her palm in front of her. "I'm Lady Jada, Jedi Knight. This is official Jedi business; please step down."

"Kill the Jedi!" the order came from amongst the battalion.

The moment those words hit her ears, she had her lightsaber in hand and ignited. A barrage of red blaster bolts came in her direction, and she had no choice but to defend herself. She reflected the shots away from her, puzzled by their orders to kill her. This was a provocative move on the Freedom Alliance's part. Could it actually be true that they were the ones behind the death of the former Chief of State?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Ty-Kra' crawling away to avoid being shot. She had no choice but to let him go as she continued to defend herself. With more and more soldiers getting into position, she saw no other way but to retreat. She could not defend herself much longer with this many soldiers coming at her.

Reflecting one last shot, which hit one of the soldiers on the front line in the heart, she used the Force to leap up onto the rooftop of the closest hut. Running on the rooftops, she made her way to her ship.

"After her!" The order came from the captain of the battalion. All of the soldiers stowed their blasters and ran through the dusty streets, following the direction the Jedi had gone. They ran past their dead fellow companion who had just been killed, showing no emotion as they did. The corpse's human shape started becoming staticy as if it was nothing more than a holo-projection. The projection completely disintegrated, and in its stead was a droid. Printed on the metallic head was the symbol of a race of people, long thought to be extinct: the dark lords of the Sith.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Without her robe, Jada had a much more difficult time blending in. Mos Eisley was not a place for modest women, and very few women tended to take up smuggling or get involved in the crime syndicate. Hiding without a cloak was near impossible. She took a few seconds to use the Jedi mind trick to swindle a cloak from another humanoid that was close to her size. It was a black robe, and very similar to a Jedi robe, in design. Black was not her favorite color in the least, but under these circumstances, she could not afford to be picky.

Under normal circumstances, it would take her no time at all to get to docking bay thirty-four, but the movement of the Freedom Alliance forces was keeping her from taking the direct route there. She was using the Force to zig-zag through the streets of Mos Eisley to avoid any uneeded confrontations. She had to assume that all the docking bays were guarded, so she knew that she would have to fight to get to her ship. Until then, she wanted to avoid running into them.

She walked cautiously through the crowded street. It was littered with people of all different species. She looked over to a small shop which was being run by a Toydarian. Three Freedom Alliance soldiers were asking questions to the shop owner, no doubt asking if he had seen her. She focused as hard as she could on not getting noticed by the soldiers that she nearly tripped over a Dug.

The alien quickly riled himself up, cursing at her in his native Dug language. "(Stupid imbecile! I'm gonna…)"

She flashed her lightsaber behind her robe, hoping it will quiet him down before they attracted the attention of the soldiers. The moment the Dug saw the weapon, he retreated. "Jedi Poodoo!"

Jada pressed on towards docking bay thirty-four. After taking the long way there, she reached the entrance without any further incidents. Standing guard were two Freedom Alliance soldiers with their blaster rifles prepped for assault. Remaining calm, she approached the door when one of the soldiers raised the palm of his right hand. "Halt! No one may leave this planet until we have apprehended a dangerous fugitive on the loose in this city."

Keeping her face hidden by the hood of her cloak, she slowly waved her right hand in front of the soldier. "You're not the one we're looking for; you may pass."

The soldier showed no signs of being influenced by her mind trick. "Wait, you're the Jedi!"

With no time to ponder on why her mind trick failed on both soldiers, she reached out in the Force, hoisted them off their feet, and slammed them into the wall. The two soldiers fell to the ground, freeing her to enter the docking bay unhindered.

Knowing that the Freedom Alliance was, by now, making their way there, she hastily ran down the two flights of steps. At the bottom of the steps, she came to an extended doorway. The Docking bay was one big circle, with two sections. The outer section contained durasteel storage containers full of tools and supplies for any traveler that docked at the city's space port. The inner section was where her ship was parked: dead center of the circle. There was no rooftop or anything to keep her from taking off and leaving Tatooine.

The docking bay was clear of any further soldiers at this moment, which was a relief; she had feared that they might have known what kind of ship she was traveling in. If they had, there would be many more soldiers there to stop her from getting onboard. She was glad that decided to come in this apprehended smuggling shuttle instead of a Coruscant shuttle.

Wasting no time, she pranced towards her shuttle. At the last second, she felt the Force warn her to stop. Having learned from past mistakes, she listed to the warning in her head and stopped. She stopped so abruptly, that she nearly fell flat on her face. She corrected herself just as her shuttle exploded into a ball of flames.

So much for the Freedom Alliance not knowing which ship was hers; this could only mean that they knew she was going to be here. This was supposed to be her trap for the bounty hunter Ty-Kra', but as it was turning out, this was a Freedom Alliance trap for the Jedi.

She shrugged off the black robe and pulled out lightsaber as the trap was launched. The docking bay began to flood with soldiers, and they immediately open fired as they entered the bay. She started deflecting the shots away from her, but she quickly realized that she was going to have no choice but to kill these soldiers. She had done her best to kill as few as possible as to not stoke the already tense situation. That was no longer an option any longer.

What should have been the perfect con turned out to be a catastrophe for Gideon Mars. All he was going to do was sell Ty-Kra' some false Coraxian Crystals. He knew full well that the Bounty Hunter wanted to kill him. If his plan had worked to par, he would have activated his properly-placed, holographic projectors, which were going to project false allies surrounding the Trandoshans. Holographic technology had improved greatly over the past few decades to the point where the images looked life-like, instead of a bluish, staticy blur. Of course, life sized models of this technology was banned in the New Republic and the Freedom Alliance; only the neutral systems allowed their usage.

Before he could turn on the projectors, the female Jedi had appeared and ruined everything. Whether she was after the Bounty Hunter, or himself, he had no idea. He was not going to stay and find out either. Because of the Jedi, he could not steal the money from Ty-kra'. This whole thing turned out to be a bust.

He had snuck away while the Trandoshans were distracted by the Jedi. It was better to give up on this con and live to lie another day. He was on his way to docking bay sixty-six.

He could not help but notice the heavy presence of the Freedom Alliance, which was the remnant of the Galactic Empire. After the truce between them and the New Republic, the Empire wanted to reorganize and rename their government in hopes to make them appear more citizen friendly; that was when the Galactic Freedom Alliance was born, and they still had a handful of systems that remained loyal to them. Those that opposed the changes instantly became neutral systems; most of the seceding systems still remained distrustful of the New Republic, and feared that history would eventually repeat itself. Therefore, they decided to remain neutral.

Gideon found it strange that the Freedom Alliance were all the way out here on Tatooine. His only guess was that the Hutts, Rotta in particular, had granted them permission to track down a fugitive. Rotta the Hutt was the son of the late Jabba the Hutt. His reputation passed that of his father's in brutality and criminal activity. There was a time everyone thought Rotta was dead. Shortly before his father's death, he had disappeared.

This was not the first time he was kidnapped; he was but baby when Zero the Hutt had orchestrated a plan to overthrow Jabba by aligning himself with the Separatists and having Rotta kidnapped. This time, it was believed that Jabba's father, Zorba had forged Jabba's will and had Rotta kidnapped so he could have his sons criminal empire. Rotta fought back and reclaimed his rightful empire from his grandfather. That was when Zorba disappeared and was never heard from again. Gideon was certain that Rotta was brutal enough to have had his grandfather killed for his treachery.

Gideon walked past the soldiers without any hesitation. He had nothing to fear from them; he had not conned anyone from that government. His primary business was with fellow smugglers and bounty hunters; he drew a line when it came to stealing from the innocent and helpless. Yes, he may have turned his back on his destiny, but that did not mean he had to be a complete jerk. He still had some principles he had to live by.

As he was walking past docking bay thirty-four, he could hear the sound of a growing number of blasters being fired; it sounded as if a war was breaking out on Tatooine. He needed to get off this planet quickly, but one of his major flaws was that he had an unquenchable curiosity. He could not count the number of times his curiosity had gotten him into trouble, and he had feeling that it was about to happen yet again.

Besides the door, there was a window looking down onto the docking bay. The window was nothing more than an intentionally left-out brick space. Glass was not ideal on Tatooine; the temperatures could get too hot for them to survive. You would expect that someone would have created something to cover up window slots that could withstand the heat; there were plenty of sandstorms to warrant such an invention.

Gideon approached the window and looked down at the action. He saw the very same Jedi, who ruined his job, trying to fend off a large number of Freedom Alliance soldiers, and the number was rapidly growing. It appeared that her ship, or what remained of it, was what the pile of burning scrap was. He could not help but chuckle at the irony of the situation. "Good luck with that," He whispered to himself.

He stepped away to the window and was about to continue his way to his docking bay when he saw the three Trandoshans coming down the alleyway. They were using their keen tracking skills to hunt him down. Somehow, they had escaped the Jedi and were using their efforts to track him down before he could leave the planet. How did this all get so complicated?

There was no way he could escape their tracking ability on his own. His mind reeled for a way out of this mess, and he could only come up with one crazy idea. "After this, she's going to owe me two." He pulled out his two blasters from his holsters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As the 'soldiers' started to fall, by Jada's reflecting the shots back at the shooters, piles of robotic limbs started to pile up. She was not fighting against humans, but a clan of androids. This did make her feel better about killing them, but at the same time, this development only added to her confusion. Either the Freedom Alliance was secretly creating a new generation of droids to launch an attack on the New Republic, or there was a third party trying to get something started.

The 'soldiers' were starting to grow too big, and she was starting to grow weary. She had to find a way to escape. She waited for the right moment, and when the opportunity came, she reached out with the Force and threw a large chunk of the burning wreckage, which used to be her ship, at the droids. Robotic limbs shattered in all directions as the debris mowed them down.

She turned to run for the back exit out of the docking bay. Right before reaching the door, however, it slid open and the smuggler who was doing business with the bounty hunter was standing there with a blaster in each hand. "Care to move?"

She did as he suggested, allowing him to fire his two blasters at the new set of droids entering the docking bay. His shots never missed their targets, and with two blasters, he was able to drop them like flies. Jada had no idea why he was interjecting himself into this fight, but she could assume that it was more for his well being than hers. She had a bad feeling that she now had another person that she was going to have to keep safe.

"So what made you decide to risk your life when you didn't have to?" Jada asked while deflecting another shot. He knew exactly who he was and what his reputation was like. He never helped anyone unless it was beneficial for himself.

"Call it a momentary lapse of judgment, honey!" Gideon replied. "This exit is no good. We're about to have company."

Jada nearly hissed at being called 'honey', but now was not the time to correct him. The more immediate need was to find a way out of this docking bay. "There's no other way out of here."

"Spoken like a true naïve tourist," Gideon replied. "Every docking bay has a hidden exit used by smugglers to disappear when they're being tracked. You forget, this ain't the republic out here, babe."

"Shut up, and find it already," Jada snapped.

She followed him down the outer corridor of the docking bay. The wall brought them some relief from the enemy fire, but there were large gaps that they had to worry about. Not only that, they were heading in the direction of the droids; it would not take much time at all for them to file into the outer corridor. Luckily, there were a series of cargo crates stacked three high which shielded them from view and, at the same time, narrowed the corridor in half.

Gideon stopped at one of the groups of crates, as Jada could already hear the footsteps of the droids entering the corridor. At the other end of the corridor, she had a clear view of the back door, which was supposedly going to have more droids entering the docking bay at any moment. As Gideon warned, the door did slide open, but there were no droids on the other side of the door, just Ty-Kra' and his two pals.

Reaching out in the Force, she caused the sliding door to shut before they had the chance to enter the outer corridor. As much as she would have liked to go after Ty-Kra', and finish her mission, that was impossible under the current circumstances. Yet, getting through the three Trandoshans would not have been as big as a problem as Gideon made it out to be.

Gideon found a hidden switch, and a door formed on the stack of crates. Those three crates were made to look like real crates to hide this secret smuggler's tunnel. Inside the doorway was a ladder that led below the docking bay. "Down you go."

Jada frowned, and instead of using the ladder, she merely leaped down and softened her landing at the bottom with the Force. Surrounded by pitch black, she reignited her blade and used its radiance to light the way. She was now waiting for Gideon, who had to use the ladder to climb down the ladder. "Now, I know why you come to my help; you wanted me to protect you from the bounty hunters."

"We can argue blame later. We can take this passageway all the way to the docking bay where my ship is."

"And why would I want to go with you on your ship? What makes you think I can't find another way off the planet?"

Gideon shrugged. "Trust me, I'm not excited about having a Jedi onboard my ship either, but you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. You need a ship to get you off this dustbowl, and I need to avoid those three bounty hunters up there."

Jada eyed the smuggler suspiciously. She could not help but sense that there was more to this than he was letting on. There was always a catch with likes of this man. "And you'll take me all the way to Coruscant?"

Gideon walked past her and started making his way down the dark tunnel, forcing her to come along with him. "We can argue destination later, now come on, sweetheart."

Jada joined him at his side, and had to fight the urge to slug him. "Call me that again, and see what happens!"

Gideon smiled wryly. "My, my, looks like I've got a Jedi, here, with a big mouth."

"Excuse me?" The temptation to knock his lights out continued to grow inside of her.

"Meant no offence, honey," Gideon replied. "Just saying, that unlike most Jedi out there, you're a little more ... boisterous. Most Jedi are more the silent types."

"If I ever become silent, you better hope my lightsaber isn't on."

"I'm beginning to like you." Gideon laughed. She had a sharp wit to match his own; there weren't that many women in the world that could stand their grown, no matter how thick he lays it on.

After going through the dark, labyrinth, Gideon had finally brought them to a new set of stairs leading back up to the surface. For several moments, she had to question whether or not he knew where he was going. With no signs and no way of determining where in Mos Eisley they were, the only way through these tunnels, and not get lost, was to know these tunnels by heart.

"This is my docking bay. Before we continue, I have to know one thing. You were here to arrest the bounty hunter and not me, right?"

"Why, do I need to arrest you?" Jada asked. Gideon stood his ground and waited for a direct answer to his question. "Are you serious? You're leaving me to fend for myself if I was here to apprehend you? If it'll make you feel better, I was here for the bounty hunter, not you."

"Thank you, we may now proceed to my shuttle," Gideon said, starting his ascension up the ladder.

Jada turned off her weapon, and followed him up the ladder, disgusted that he was willing to stoop so low. As she climbed, she could sense the danger that was following them through the underground tunnels. She could not tell if they were the three Trandoshans, or if they were these mysterious droids. All she knew was that they were closely being watched. Gideon quietly opened the door and sneaked a peak in both directions. "We're clear."

He stepped into the outer corridor of the new docking bay, proving his word that things were safe for the time being. Despite all the visual evidence, she kept her weapon close as she followed him into the outer corridor. As a Jedi, she never depended on her eyes to warn her of danger; sight was the least dependable of the five senses. She relied on her feelings... her Jedi senses. It never failed her, and has often delivered her and her friends from traps set by their enemies.

"Here's my ship! She's not much to look at, but she's got a long history of outrunning ships ten times her size."

As she entered the main section of the docking port, she was taken aback by what she was seeing. She had not been ready for anything like this. The Force had, once again, led her to another unsettling surprise. "You've got to be joking! It's the Millennium Falcon!"

Gideon's flamboyance had instantly vanished. It was replaced with shock and little fear added into the mix. "Ugg, I end up helping one of the few Jedi, in the galaxy, who WOULD recognize the ship, even after all the work I put into reconstructing her."

Jada had her lightsaber ignited in a blink of the eye and pointed the tip of the blade right at his throat. "You'll tell me how you got this ship, immediately!"

"We can have story time later, honey. If you want off this planet, then get onboard!"

Jada frowned, and gave him a look of disdain as she acquired a new found distrust and dislike for this con artist who considers himself a legitimate smuggler. The fact that he even had the ship told her that he either directly assassinated the Solo's, or knew who did. Her mission may still turn out to be a success, after all. "Very well, but you can now consider yourself under arrest in the name of the New Republic."

Gideon lifted his wrist to his mouth, where he wore a strange looking wrist-communication device. "Hawk, we're gonna have company; lower the ramp, please!"

"Who —"

"You'll see in a moment," he replied, quieting her with a raised hand.

"Greetings, Master Gideon. Did 'Click-click' all go well?" A robotic voice came from the ship.

"Does it ever?"

"I see 'Click-click' it's gone well enough for you to meet a mistress."

"Mistress!" Jada was enraged at the suggestion. Never had she felt so insulted before in her life, and this time it was coming from a ship... the Millennium Falcon none-the-less.

"Just lower the ramp, now!"

As the ramp lowered, the holo-guised droids started filing into the docking bay. She deflected the shots back at them as Gideon leaped onto the lowering lamp, not waiting for it to finish its cycle. As the droids collapsed and their holo-generators failed, she reached out with the Force to rip the robotic head off its shoulders. Once the head was safely in her hands, she ran up the ramp and into the safety of the ship.

Nostalgia immediately washed over her as she entered the ship. She never had gotten the chance to ride on the Millennium Falcon very much, but there were still bitter sweet memories that remained on this old piece of junk. She never imagined she would see this ship again, and now that she has, she could not shake the ghosts of the past.

"Hawk, start the engines. While you're at it, blast those soldiers into oblivion," Gideon ordered as he and ran for the cockpit.

"I 'click-click' see them, but I don't detect their 'click-click' their presence on my monitor."

"That's because their droids," Jada said, throwing the robotic head onto the Dajarik table in the main hold. This was where Chewbacca and, on occasion, Ambassador Solo taught her to play Dejarik; she never could beat either of them. When she was a child, Ambassador Solo even taught her how to play Sabbac, much to the dismay of her mother.

She followed him into the cockpit where he quickly went to work in preparing for take-off. He flew all over the cockpit, flipping switches, pulling levels, and pushing buttons. She was surprised how well he knew the ship, seeing that he had stolen it. She was ready to take the co-pilot seat when she saw the upper body of protocol droid built into the seat. There was no mistaking the golden casing of this droid. "What've you done to Threepeo?"

"Again, stories later! I'm kinda busy trying to save our lives, here!" He said pushing her aside to get to his seat. "Do me a favor, honey, and take the back seat."

"If you call me 'honey' one more time —"

"Not listening, sweatheart," Gideon replied.

The Lower, quad-core, laser cannon came to life as it pivoted towards the invading droids. One blast had enough force to destroy a handful of droids, and throwing a dozen or more of them off their feet. The cannon was meant more for space battles, and was clearly overkill for battle on land. If the soldiers were real, Jada would have had a huge problem with what the ship did. Seeing that they weren't organic beings, she was willing NOT to make an issue out of it.

The ship hovered off its legs and made its way up and out of the docking bay. "Prepare to launch the thrusters," Gideon ordered.

"I got 'click-click' it handled." The voice of the AI came from a speaker in the cockpit, but the protocol droid, built into the co-pilot seat, maneuvered and moved as if he was the one speaking. Jada assumed that the artificial intelligence was built into the ship, and had no real need for the body in the co-pilot seat. The protocol droid was probably only meant for companionship. It said a lot about Gideon's personality and the type of life he lived.

As the ship rose out of the docking bay, the droids were firing everything they had at it, trying to bring it down. The deflector shields proved too strong for their blasters. The ship cleared the docking bay without any problems.

"Hit the thrusters; let's get outta here."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hawk, that was what the smuggler called his ship, blazed through the sky as it raced into the upper atmosphere; that. Jada sat in the passenger seat behind Gideon Mars, wishing she could sit up-front. She needed to be sure that he was not going to pull a fast one and take them somewhere other than Coruscant.

She caught herself staring at the droid that used to be Threepio. She never imagined she would miss the droid's quirkiness. The droid had a tendency to get on the nerves of anyone he was around; it took someone born with extreme patience and kindness to handle his neurotic innocence. With any other personality around him, his gentleness had a tendency to turn into agitation. Despite his annoying habits, nearly everyone saw him more than just a droid; he was a one-of-a-kind friend.

The ship shook as it raced out into the planet's upper atmosphere. Jada used the back of the co-pilot's seat to steady herself. As she did, she saw a metal box slide, similar to the one that carried the Coraxian cables that he tried to sell the bounty hunter. Curiosity got the better of her; she reached down, grabbed a hold of it, and placed it onto her lap. Much to her surprise, the case was not locked. Gideon had not expected another life form to be hitching a ride with him, but still... a good smuggler would not take such a reckless risk.

She opened the durasteel case to find it full of the same blue-white crystals. "So this is what you were trying to sell?" She asked.

Gideon shot her a glance back, before returning his focus onto pilot the ship. He knew what was coming, and there was no point in trying to deceive a Jedi. "Okay, let's hear it,"

"You were trying to swindle Ty-Kra' with these? I've never seen such a poor replicas in my life; These aren't even the right color."

"And your point being?"

"The point being is that you're not a smuggler... you're a con-artist... a swindler," Jada replied coldly as she closed the case and placed it back under her seat.

"Hey!" He held up a finger at her. "I only swindle bounty hunters, thugs... you know, your typical low-life dirt bags that make a living hurting others. I never—NEVER—cheat an honest client. That's just bad business."

Jada grinned. "Does telling yourself that comfort you from the guilt you feel?"

Gideon muttered underneath his breath. "I knew this was gonna be a mistake."

"If you two are 'click-click' done, we've got a problem! There are 'click-click' three war cruisers coming to intercept us!"

"Hawk, tell me what we're up against?" He asked. They had not reached the blackness of space yet, and he was not one for surprises. If he could find out whom he was up against before getting into space that would give him an advantage.

"I 'click-click' am unable to identify. They are 'click-click' not of any known class. They do 'click-click' have the appearances of..."

The blue sky faded into the emptiness of space, painted with the stars of a million suns. Unfortunately, space was not as empty as it should have been, as three very familiar shaped war ships were there to greet them. "Imperial-class Star Destroyers?"

This was a puzzling development to say the least. The Imperial-class Star Destroyers were all retired when the Imperial remnant became the Freedom Alliance. Starting a new government, the alliance wanted a brand new class of cruisers and defenders to help erase the memories of the evil Empire. It has been a decade since the last Star Destroyer was seen in this galaxy.

"Not 'click-click' exactly," The ship's artificial intelligence reported. "These ships 'click-click' appear to be modified from the 'click-click' original designs. These ships have been 'click-click' upgraded."

"Imperial III-class Star Destroyers?"

* * *

><p>The bounty hunter had failed, and now they had to clean up his mess. Despite the downward spiral that the plan had taken, his master, Lord Sithious, remained calm and collected. Yet again, Kartel failed to understand his lack of reaction. The whole purpose of this set up, as far as he understood it, was to allow the bounty hunter to kill the smuggler. When Sithious found out that the Trandoshans had failed, he acted as if everything was going according to plan.<p>

Sithious was a very curious young Sith Lord; he had the wisdom of a man three times his age. He was as dark as he was mysterious. Anytime Kartel expected a certain reaction from him, the dark lord surprised him with a different reaction. Either he had patience beyond that of a normal Sith Lord, or everything WAS going as planned.

Kartel also could not explain why the dark lord needed him. It was unusual for a Sith Lord to have an apprentice that was not a Sith or a Force wielder. Neither would he be considered to be intelligent by any sense of the word. One time, he had mustered up the courage to ask Sithious why he recruited him in the first place, when he had nothing really to offer his campaign of terror. The dark lord said that he had foreseen that he would be used to strike the first blow against the New Republic. He could not imagine what he could have meant; he was anything but a fierce warrior.

Despite the mystery surrounding him, Kartel had decided that he should not worry himself with things that were outside his concern and just do as he was told. Trying to figure his master out gave him a headache. It was best just to do as he told and report to him anything he needs to know.

Sithious watched the development of the situation on the viewport from his chair on the bridge. He leaned all the way back in his chair almost to the point of slouching; his fingers meticulously intertwined with each other on his chest. His terrifying, yellow eyes peered at the view screen intently, studying every small detail. The smuggler's ship was coming straight for them.

"Lord Sithious, the smuggler and the Jedi have fallen into your trap. Do we have permission to destroy them?"

Sithious narrowed his eyes, but showed no emotions. He remained quiet for an awkward minute, calculating every possible scenario, and calling upon the dark-side of the Force for council. "No," he finally answered, focusing his possessed eyes towards Kartel. "Fire everything we have at them, but make sure our turrets are misaligned so they fail to hit their target."

"My lord?" Kartel was once again being given orders that just did not make sense.

"Do it." The tone in his voice was menacing, providing no opportunity for Kartel to ask for an explanation.

* * *

><p>"Hawk, prepare to make the jump to hyperspace," Gideon ordered as he took over the full piloting responsibilities.<p>

"What course 'click-click' should I plot?"

"Any course that will allow us to make the jump sooner."

"Set course for Coruscant," Jada interjected, before Gideon spun his seat around and pointed his finger in her face.

"Hey girl, this is my ship and my rules. Right now, I'm just trying to save our butts from the Alliance who seems to have it out against you."

Something did not add up. How was the Freedom Alliance coming across this new technology without the Jedi or the New Republic knowing about it? If the technology was so top secret, then why were they using it merely to capture one Jedi? Strategically, it did not make sense. If they worked so hard to keep this new technology hidden from the galaxy, why reveal it in this manner instead of launching a full fledge attack? It was almost as if they wanted to be exposed, which begged to question if this was really the Freedom Alliance at all.

Gideon proved to be a very skilled pilot and knew the ship's capabilities very well. As the three Star Destroyers showered them with a steady stream of red blaster bolts, the ship spiraled around the stream all the way up to the belly of the closest Star Destroyer. He followed it all the way to the nose, swerving around red bolts in the process. Staying close to the Star Destroyer, the other two held back their fire.

"Course 'click-click' laid in. I'm ready 'click-click' to make the jump."

"Punch it!"

The stars became white lines as the ship went into hyper space. The two Star Destroyers instantaneously vanished from sight.

* * *

><p>"You have failed us, bounty hunter," the life-size holograph image of Kartel said, sstanding before Ty-kra' with his arms folded in front of him.<p>

The Trandoshan hissed agitatedly. "Your droidsssth got in my way while chasing after the Jedi. If I didn't know better, I would think that thisssth whole job was a sssthet up." With his temper rising, his accent started to get stronger.

His accusation did not spark a reaction from Kartel, which only increased his suspicion. He knew Kartel was only the minion of the person who had hired him; Kartel was too stupid to arrange something like this. Who was this master of his? Was he too much of a coward to address him personally?

"No excuses. You've been offered a handsome reward, and yet the smuggler remains alive."

"The sssthmuggler will be dealt withhh. We, Trandoshansssth are great huntersssth."

"No, your service will no longer be necessary." The image dissolved. A hissing sound came from behind him, followed by the screaming of his two friends. He turned around to see a Sith lord standing in front of him, with his red lightsaber drawn. Behind the Sith, his two comrades were sprawled out on the ground, headless.

Ty-kra recognized the Sith to be a Gen'dai. They were normally a peaceful species, but when they turned violent, their regeneration made them very difficult to kill. Anything short of being vaporized would only result in sending them into a short-term hibernation. He wore similar body armor to that of the late bounty hunter Durge. Very few have ever seen them in their true forms.

There was no point fighting such an advisory. Alone, the Gen'dai could overpower a Trandoshan without much problem, but this one had the powers of the Sith on top of impressive abilities. Ty-kra saw no other option but to turn and run, but as he did, another Sith with an ignited lightsaber blocked his way. He recognized this particular Sith from his reputation alone. His name was Darth Bison. He belonged to the very dangerous, Force-sensitive species of the Anzati. Like his people, he was nearly completely humanoid in appearance, except for the two tentacle-like proboscises on his cheeks. The fact that he had them drawn out was bad news for Ty-kra. Even though an Anzat preferred someone who was Force-sensitive, they would gladly use their proboscises to feed on the brains of someone who was not. "Krull, I want to feed on his soup!"

"Wait, wait, perhaps we can ssssthrike a deal!" Ty-kra pleaded. Neither of the Sith lords replied. Darth Krull did not give him the chance to continue his plea. Without remorse, he swiftly swung his blade, cutting both of his legs off. The bounty hunter squealed and waved his arms wildly, hoping to get lucky and strike one of the Sith lords. Krull continued dismembering him, slicing both of his arms off, leaving him completely defenseless.

Darth Bison already has his lightsaber deactivated and back on his belt as he leaned down over the wailing Trandoshan's head. His two proboscises entered through his nostrils and the body began to convulse as the feeding process began.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kartel cut the transmission. Now, more confused than ever, he approached his master, whose chair was facing the window. Sensing his approach, Sithious pressed a button on his armrest, which caused the chair to spin around. "Report."

Kartel knelt down on one knee , looking downward, not daring to look his master in the eyes. "The three Trandoshan bounty hunters are dead, as you have commanded."

A crooked smiled appeared on his young face. "Good. There is no stopping the war now. Everything is happening as I have foreseen it."

"Yes, my master," Kartel replied solemnly. His mind was so busy trying to understand this plan, that he failed to excuse himself.

His failure did not escape the dark lord's notice. "You have trouble grasping my plan with your feeble mind."

Kartel lost his composure and looked up at him. He had not meant to attract his master to his thoughts of confusion. Sithious had a very short tempter, and Kartel knew that he had already used up a lot of his master's good grace. If he continued to hound him for explanations, his patience would come to an end. "Yes, my master."

"I will give you a little... taste of what I have done. See if you can figure it out despite your incompetence; if you can't, then you you'll just have to go on living in your own ignorance."

"Yes, my master," Kartel replied, surprised to be even given this much information. As long as he knew the dark lord, he preferred everyone to live in ignorance of his plan. The man was arrogant in every manner of the word.

"I was the one who hired the Trandoshans to assassinate Chief of State Solo and her husband. Their deaths would plant the seed for the next galactic war. I am also the one who made sure that the smuggler, Gideon Mars, was there to witness their fiery end. Everything he thinks he knows points to the Freedom Alliance having attempted the assassination. It is I who also allowed the Jedi to suspect the Trandoshan's involvement and arranged for the opportunity to capture him on Tatooine. Can you tell me, why I allowed this?"

Kartel processed the information presented to him. He carefully processed his thoughts, afraid to come to the wrong conclusion, and deepening the dark lord's disgust of him. "You hope to start a war between the two governments in power. The only way to do that is to make the Republic believe that the Freedom Alliance is planning to overthrow them."

Sithious showed no emotional responses on his face; he only stared down at him with his yellow eyes. "You are correct, but that's just stating the obvious. Tell me... the unobvious."

Kartel was growing more nervous. It almost felt like his life was on the line if he made a single mistake. For all he knew, it could very well be. "You leak the information to the Jedi order of Trandoshans, even though their capture would ruin any chance of a war between the two governments. Based on your recent orders, I can only guess that you actually wanted them to find Gideon Mars, not the bounty hunter."

The dark lord nodded. "Correct. This step of the mission was nothing but a success. We offer the New Republic the smuggler in exchange for the bounty hunters. With their attentions now on him, we've killed the only hope they had in discovering the truth."

Feeling like he passed a major hurdle, he felt bold enough to ask about one problem that he saw. "If I may ask, my master, how is handing Gideon Mars to the Jedi going to work? The evidence they extract from him will not fool the Jedi for very long."

Sithious cracked a rare smile on his face. "This whole plan is not to convince the Jedi, but the senate. It is the senate that has the power to go war. The Jedi are calm, collected, and slow to act; but politicians will mindlessly jump at anything that benefits their desires, whether that is money, political power, war, or even something as noble as peace. Politicians thinks only for the hear and now; they can't think ten steps ahead. They will pass any bill that may benefit them and their beneficiaries immediately, despite the long term consequences that could ultimately lead to their destruction. Most of the time, they don't even read and consider the long term fall out. "

"I understand."

"Now that your small mind is caught up, let's continue with next phase of the plan. Activate the trap and bring down the smuggler's ship. I doubt the Jedi have had the time to question the smuggler, and we need to continue to make them think that he's important to the Freedom Alliance. "

"Right away, my master."

* * *

><p>Inside the Main Hold of the Hawk, the android's head nearly fell off the Dejarik table at the jolt resulting from the jump into hyperspace. The head rattled near the edge of the table when two tiny round slots appeared. Both slots began to glow red as the rest of the head began to transform into a small spider-like robot. Having been activated meant that it was responsible to accomplish the task that had been programmed into it.<p>

It scanned the Main Hold and looking for a data access port. Lucky for the droid, there was an engineering station in the Main Hold. Everything it needed to do to accomplish its mission was right there across the Main Hold. Its task was made simple by being placed right where it needed to be. The droid gurgled as it crawled towards the station.

* * *

><p>She had bit her tongue, and kept the accusations to herself for as long as it took. Now that they had made the jump to hyperspace, Jada was quick to begin her interrogation. "Okay, the first thing I want to know is; how'd you get your hands on this ship!"<p>

Gideon leaned back in his chair and swiveled around to face her. "Whoa, sister, you make me sound like a thief."

Jada folded her arms in front of her. "From where I sit, you _ARE_ a thief. I recognize the Millennium Falcon when I see it."

"Wow, that's hurtful."

Jada grinned. "You'll get over it. I'm sure it's not the first time you've been called one."

"No, it's not that," Gideon replied. "You offended Hawk by calling him the Falcon. He doesn't like that too much."

"The Falcon was '_click-click_' a piece of junk. I am faster and _'click-click'_ a whole lot prettier," the AI said through the speakers throughout the cockpit.

"This is now the Phantom Hawk, and if I were you, I wouldn't get on his bad side."

Jada was not concerned about hurting the feelings of a program built into a ship. She was more focused on how the former owners of this ship died. "Never-the-less, you now own a ship which was owned by the late New Republic Ambassador, Han Solo. That means... you probably know how they died."

Gideon leaned forward, with a serious look on his face. This was the first time she had seen him this serious. He was not happy with the direction she was taking this conversation. "I'm no murderer, if that's what you implying,"

"Then tell me who killed the Former Chief of State and her husband?"

Gideon leaned back in his chair once again, slipping back into his easy-going mannerisms. "How much is the information worth to you?"

Jada's eyes narrowed; she was really beginning to annoyed with this man. "You're either going to tell me, or you can tell the Jedi Order."

"Sorry, but you're not gonna get me anywhere near Coruscant, honey. I wouldn't be caught dead on that planet of yours. I'm taking you to the closest neutral system, and I'm outta here. I've had enough fun with you Jedi for one lifetime."

"You are going to take us out of warp, and set coordinates to Coruscant, unless you want to find yourself under arrest."

"Like I said before, honey: my ship, my rules."

Jada wanted to continue this debate, but her mind was ringing, warning her of imminent danger. She could not pinpoint where the danger was coming from; all she knew was that something bad was about to happen. Her feelings were confirmed by the ships AI. "We've got _'click-click'_ a problem. Something is _'click-click'_ fooling around with my circuits!"

The ship jerked violently as it slipped out of hyperspace. Gideon knew every inch of this ship, and when it came out of hyperspace, he could feel that something was not right; the ship was not handling correctly. "I don't know what it can be, but something's playing around with the navigational system."

There was only one explanation for this sudden turn of events, and the thought made Jada sick to the stomach. If the droid's head is responsible for sabotaging the ship, then this was all a set up. Someone had anticipated her actions as if this was all part of a master plan. This was her first clue that the contradicted her belief that the Freedom Alliance was behind this mess. To be this precise in every aspect of a plan, they had to have some influence in the Force. There could be no doubt that there was a third party trying to manipulate things, and they were fluent in the dark side of the Force.

She leaped from her chair with her lightsaber already in hand. She exited out of the cockpit and ran down the corridor. As she ran, the ship rocked violently by an explosion. She used the wall to keep herself on her feet, and when the shaking stopped, she pressed on towards the Main Hold. As she approached it, she ignited her weapon.

She was greeted by a thin layer of smoke and some flames rising from the floor-grates; the droid _HAD _been busy. She leaped over the flames used the Force to guide her eyes towards the location of the danger. She found an open panel on the floor where sparks continued to fly; that was where was droid was fulfilling its mission. Reaching out with the Force, she found the droid and pulled it out from the circuitry. With a swift stroke of her blade, she sliced the small droid in half, ceasing its reign of chaos onboard this ship.

She turned her lightsaber off and made her way back to the cockpit; she knew that was where she needed to be, instead of putting out these flames. She could sense the smugglers tension through the Force; another problem was unraveling that was more immediate than the fire. She ran back into the cockpit where Gideon was pounding away at the controls. "What's the situation?"

"We lost the hyper-drive and our starboard engines are dying; in short, we're losing power. Where'd you run off to?"

"To deal with the situation in the Main Hold. The ship's been sabotaged."

Gideon shook his head. "Should've seen that coming. You better take a seat. Things are about to get a little dicey."

Jada took her seat, and strapped herself in. Looking out at a viewport, they were heading straight for a water planet. The planet had a purplish tint to it with a few large islands scattered around the planet. "Where are we going?"

"We've lucked out; we came out of Hyperspace near the planet Ando. We've got no choice but to try to land. So hold on tightly, sweet heart, I hope you don't count for neatness. "

Jada growled underneath her breath, holding back everything she wanted to say to him at that very moment. If they survived this, she was going to force him to show her some respect. "I'm not your sweet heart, and you better start getting that through your head."

Gideon didn't even acknowledge her; he was good at tuning her out when it fitted him. "Whatever, honey. Hawk, prep the landing gear, and let's hope we'll get to use them."

The Phantom Hawk entered Ando's atmosphere at a steep angle; much steeper than Gideon would have liked. He was working hard at straighten the ship out, and he could sense the ship's AI aiding him. The ship was fighting both of them; the damage caused in the Main Hold was more severe than he hoped. The ship began to shimmy the deeper in the atmosphere they flew.

"Hawk, see what you can do about external dampeners."

The shimmying subsided, but did not fully dissipate. It was a better result than what Gideon was expecting; at least something was still working. "Get the nose up!" he barked.

"You do not _'click-click'_ have to remind me! I am the one who is going to, _'click-click'_, feel this the most!"

The Phantom Hawk came spearing out of the clouds and towards land mass. Luck was handing them a life line, as they were able to make it to one of the larger islands on the planet. The shimmying picked up again, and this time, some of the controls in front of Gideon started to smoke. He had just lost all control of the ship. "Brace yourself, this is gonna hurt."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A holographic map of the galaxy took up most of the room. Kartel stood beside's his master's chair watching a red blip among all the white spots which represented stars and planets. The tracking beacon in the droid's head was working perfectly, allowing them to see where the smuggler and the Jedi were going. "It's puzzling that they've veered off like they did. You would think they would be heading towards Coruscant."

Sithious focus solely on the map. "That's because the smuggler and the Jedi are at odds. The Jedi may want to bring him to Coruscunt, but for reasons, that even I don't know, he refuses to step foot there. "

The red dot on the map continued down its course, and the two of them waited until the droid completed his job. Finally the dot disappeared and a red square appeared, marking where the signal was lost. "Does this mean that they're dead?"

Sithious remained silent for a moment as he took a deep breath and meditated in the Force. "No, they're alive." Tapping on the buttons on his armrest, the holographic map was magnified to focus on the part of the map the red square was. There were two planets in range from the ships last known location. Sithious gave both planets a good look before pointing to the one on the left. "They've crashed landed there."

"On Ando?"

"That is where we will find them," Sithious assured him.

"Should I send Darth Bison or Darth Krull to deal with them?"

Sithous gazed at him as if he could not believe he had asked such a stupid question. "The Smuggler and the Jedi have served their purpose. Send my apprentice: Darth Kahn, and his pets. He will not fail me."

Of all the apprentices, Darth Kahn was Kartel's least favorite. He was a Dathomirian Zabrak with an attitude. The species were long thought to be extinct with the demise of the Nightsisters on Dathomir. They used to be very dangerous, especially when they become dark lords of the Sith, but they were usually quiet individuals. Kahn was the exception. He was loud, aggressive, and extremely deadly. He was in no short supply of confidence in his abilities. The only thing louder than his confidence was his arrogance. Kartel would not be upset in the least to hear that the Jedi kill him on Ando. "I will inform him, immediately."

* * *

><p>Jada opened her eyes as she slowly returned to the waking world. She became aware of a sharp pain coursing through her body as her senses began their self evaluation. The first problem she became aware of was her throbbing head. The pain made it difficult for her to focus her vision. She had to assume that she had hit her head; it was more than likely that she had a concussion. The next thing she noticed was a searing pain in her right arm. She looked over at her upper arm to see it neatly bandaged up in some cloth.<p>

"Well, I was beginning to fear you weren't going to wake up before nightfall." Gideon said. He, too, was bandaged up pretty well. "Sorry if the bandages are not up to your high standards, I'm not all that medically inclined."

Jada found herself leaning up against the tree. She was looking at the burning remains of the Phantom Hawk, and everything that had transpired came rushing back to her. They had crashed landed on this planet, after luckily managing to steer the ship to one of the few land masses on this mostly aquatic planet.

"It looks like we're—_ungh_—stuck here for awhile." Her body was sore and stiff, but it wouldn't take much for her to stretch those out of her muscles.

Gideon stared at the wreckage of his ship. "Sure, it looks pretty grim, but I know someone who can fix 'er up good as new. As for getting off this planet, I think we've been strangely fortunate. Not only is Ando a member of the New Republic, but I just happen to have an Aqualish friend who lives here. You can catch a ride back to Coruscant, and I can go my own way; everybody wins!"

Jada fought against the pain to pull herself up onto her feet. "Our present situation doesn't change the fact that you're under my custody. Like it or not, you _WILL_ address the Jedi Council to answer questions."

Gideon pretended not to have heard her as he looked up to the sky. Right now, there were more pressing matters at hand. "Well, we can't wait here for night to fall. Think you can handle a long hike, pretty lady?"

She ignored his derogatory name, not interested in wasting any more energy fighting with the swindler. She was convinced that he was doing it to get a rise from her, and under these circumstance, she could not afford to give him what he wants. "I can handle myself just fine without any help from you."

He laughed, noticing her lack of response to his pet name. "Good, before we go, there's something vital in the wreckage that I need to get. I'll be back in a flash."

She watched as Gideon ducked and climbed into what remained of the Phantom Hawk. Looking at the condition of the ship, she was astonished that they were even alive. Flames still burned both on the inside and the outside of the wreckage.

She was more than glad to stay on the outside. What remained of the once proud ship looked like a death trap for any who dared to enter it. With all the debris on the ground, she would have been in immense pain just trying to climb over everything; there was no way should would be able to go very far inside. Of course, she would not give Gideon the pleasure in seeing her in her weakened condition.

* * *

><p>It was difficult even for Gideon to recognize where he was inside the ship. The whole frame of the ship had been twisted and deformed beyond recognition. He knew he said that the ship would be fixed in no time, but seeing the damage all around him, he began to question whether or not that was true. Sparks were flying everywhere as he dodged through cables hanging from the roof. When he found his old Dejarik table piled on top of a mound of debris, he knew he found the Main Hold.<p>

He walked towards a small durasteel box mounted on the wall. It was severely mangled, and the hatch was half off its hinges. He only had to touch it before it fell off. He pulled out of the box a blaster and a wrist-sized communication device. Not only did it allow him to communicate with Hawk from long ranges, but it also served as a universal translator. "Hawk, are you still functioning?"

"Functioning _'click-click' _well enough. I feel like _'click-click' _I just went one-on-one with a _'click-click' _base station."

"I'm activating the tracking beacon on my wrist communicator. Are you capable of keeping an eye on us and warning us of any danger coming in our direction?"

"For now. My _'click-click' _power cells are quickly depleting. I can't _'click-click' _promise how long I can keep it up."

The report was better than he had expected. He had no doubt that the Freedom Alliance was going to come after them. Any warning of their approach would give them some hope of surviving any ambush they may unleash. "Give me all you can, buddy. I promise to get you all fixed up in no time. It won't be long 'till you're making all the other space freighter's eat your dust again."

* * *

><p>Jada ventured to look inside the wreckage. The damage looked worse on the inside than it did on the outside. What could the smuggler possibly need that would make him risk his life inside there? The sound of metal and durasteel creaking proved that the frame of the ship was unsteady. The ship could collapse upon itself at any moment.<p>

She backed away from the wreckage when she heard footsteps coming towards her. Whatever he was looking for, he had found it and was on his way back. A warning flashed in the back of her mind. Her eyes swept over the wreckage as she rushed to find what was triggering the warning. When her eyes failed, she used the Force. It pulled her eyes right to a large durasteel beam shaking loose right at the entrance of the gap.

"Okay, now we can—"

The beam gave way, and all Gideon could do was duck and wait for it to crush him. It only took few seconds to realize that he was still alive. When death never took its claim on him, he looked up to see the beam floating over his head. He looked towards Jada who had her right hand stretched out, using the Force to levitate the heavy durasteel beam. In her weakend state, that hunk of metal was almost overwhelmingly heavy. "Get out of there!"

Gideon nodded and dashed out of the wreckage. As soon as he was clear, she ceased her connection with the Force and allowed the beam to crash onto the ground. She was in too much pain to, gently, lay it on the ground; she only hoped she didn't expose her weakness to him. She hoped that he contributed her appearance of weakness as struggling with the weight of it. He wasn't Force-sensitive; he wouldn't understand that the weight of an object was not what determined success or failure in levitation.

Gideon looked back to where he should have been killed. "Well, I guess I owe you one.

"One? Try two," she responded. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was not going to survive Tatooine, even with his holo-projected army.

* * *

><p>He could sense the presence of the Jedi deep in the forest. The Force was strong with this Jedi; he would not be an easy kill. Darth Kahn knew exactly what he was up against the moment he stepped foot onto Ando. Through the vibrations of the Force, he knew that the Jedi was young and not yet a Master. He could also sense pain and anguish emanating from him; The Jedi was wounded. He would be no match for his pets.<p>

It was almost a shame; he would have really enjoyed the chance to duel with him. As a Dathomirian Zabrak, violence was bred into him. Though his people were very reclusive, he was not the first of his kind to make their mark in the galaxy. Darth Maul was the first to represent their people, and then there was Savage Opress during the Clone Wars. However, there was one major difference between him and these two that came before. Maul and Savage were given their Force powers through the magic of the Nightsisters; he was the product of something far more powerful. His power was all-natural and enhanced by the shrine.

The shrine was created by his master, Darth Sithious, with the long lost art of Sith Alchemy. The art had been extinct for millenniums, yet somehow, Sithious breathed new life into this lost science. It was a testament how powerful his master was. Kahn's fellow apprentices were imbeciles to even think about trying to overthrow their master. They had no understanding of what he was capable of, but Kahn knew. There was an ancient evil surrounding the Sith Master; It was an evil beyond anything the galaxy has ever seen. He had the power to apprentice several dark lords at the same time; he had no fear of his apprentices, because their combined powers could not compare to his. Kahn was smart enough to know opposing him would only prove to be futile. Because of this understanding, Sithious trained him in the science of Sith Alchemy, which allowed him to create his two pets.

The Dark Lord stood and stared at his massive ship which he had to land on the shore line of the island. It was not an easy ship to pilot; it was not meant for fancy maneuvering, nor was it meant to be taken into battle. It was designed—only—to transport large creatures to new planets. It took him awhile to find the right person to kill to acquire such a rare ship, but all of his hard work had paid off. He had found a new home for his two pets, where they can flourish and reproduce, if given the chance to. He was determined to give them that chance. Of course, they would eventually kill off the native species on the planet; Kahn had no problems with that in the least.

With the tap of a button his wrist device, the back hatch slowly lowered. A pair of loud, hellish roar came from within the shadow of the ship. Two pairs of glowing red eyes could be seen inside as the hatch touched down and became a ramp for the two beasts inside. "Go, my pets, and kill the Jedi and the smuggler.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They had been walking eastward through the forest for the past hour. There was about another hour of daylight remaining; there were times Jedi wondered if Gideon knew where he was going, but her Jedi senses were not alerting her of a trap or deceit on his part. If they were going in the wrong direction, then it was not intentional.

She tried to avoid talking to the swindler as much as possible. He was unrelenting in his catch phrases and in his attempts to flirt with her. Did he not get it? She was not interested in the likes of him. Even if she was, there was no way that they could form a relationship. The Jedi code forestalled marriage between someone from the Jedi Order to a non-Force user. It was only recently when the council voted to allow only Jedi Knights, who have successfully trained an apprentice, to marry a fellow Jedi Knight. After the Jedi purge, some of the old codes were rectified to assure the survival of the Jedi. With the some of the code relaxed, however, some new preventive measures had to be put in place to continue to assure that the temptation of the dark side did not increase.

She had been limping through the entire hike; and the pain, in her leg, was getting worse. The farther she walked, the harder it was to hide the pain. She stayed focused with the Force, trying to dissolve some of the pain, but even that was losing its potency.

Gideon noticed her obtrusive limp steadily getting worse. He had, up to this point, remained silent about it, but he could no longer ignore the slowing pace they've drifted into. "Maybe taking a breather wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"No, let's keep moving!" she answered sharply.

"You really dislike me that much? You hate me enough to put yourself through this agony and misery? I know your leg is killing you; you don't need to put on this brave charade on my account."

Jada turned to face him; a cold, unemotional look was sketched on her face. "As a Jedi, I don't hold grudges or ill-feelings towards anyone."

He could read between the lines; she wanted this conversation ended, immediately, but he always enjoyed flirting with danger, and seeing how much farther he could push the limit of her tolerance. "Are Jedi allowed to lie, 'cause that was a whole bunch of Bantha fodder right there? I'm a swindler; I know a lie when I hear one."

Before she could answer, Gideon's wrist-communicator beeped. "What is it?"

"Be on _'click-click'_ your guard. If my scanners _'click-click'_ are correct, you're being surrounded."

Jada already had her lightsaber in hand, having already sensed the same danger. With a flick of her thumb, her violet blade stood at attention. "We 're being hunted."

Gideon snorted as he ripped out both of his blasters from his holsters. "Bring them on! I can use the target practice."

Her senses flashed a violent warning in the back of her mind as a single ankle-sized, two-legged reptile dashed towards her chest. She stepped aside to avoid the attack; she wanted know what they were up against before she started using her weapon on them. It was a creature she had never seen before. It was a decidedly grotesque little thing with rounded snouts, sharp fangs, and a tongue like a snake. When another tiny creature leaped at her, she thwarted the attack and sliced it in half.

Another one popped out and attacked Gideon. He was quick to shoot it out of the air. "They ain't too bad. They're kinda cute—aside from their unquenchable desire to have us as their next meal."

"Individually, they're no real threat; but if we're talking about a large pack, then..." She didn't have to finish that comment; the look she gave him told him everything he needed to know. "They're just checking us out for weaknesses."

Hundreds of the tiny carnivores began filing out of their hiding places. There seemed no end to them as they came out of everywhere. Their collaborative movement showed solidarity and intelligence; a combination exceptionally rare among reptilian species in this part of the galaxy. Most of them had their eyes set on Jada. "It appears they've figured out I'm not at the top of my game."

Gideon showered the tiny carnivores with his blaster, causing all hell to break loose. Jada used her lightsaber to defend herself. The tiny creatures knew that she was hurt, and a majority of them were working together to take advantage of it. Not to let Gideon off the hook, the remaining creatures attacked him. They both found themselves quickly becoming overwhelmed by their relentlessness.

"This is no good! There's too many of them!" Gideon said.

Just when they began to think things couldn't get any worse for them; a deafening roar echoed through the jungle. At first, the pack of carnivores was confused; they never heard such a sound before. Jada knew by these beasts' reaction that whatever bellowed out that monstrous roar was not native to this planet. Another roar sounded, this time closer than the last one. This time, the roar galvanized the pack into retreat. "Things just got worse," Jada stated.

Two giant monsters plowed through the jungle. There were no doubts that they were a breed of Rancors, but Jada had never seen this kind before. They had four very large tusks each, and had bluish-grey skin. The dark side of the Force surrounded these two monstrosities. If she had to guess, she would say that these monsters belonged to the long-thought-lost breed of Bull Rancors.

She could feel the fear well-up inside of Gideon, though he refused to allow her to see it. "Bull Rancors? I thought they were extinct!"

Jada have heard stories of this breed of rancor, but no one had seen one since the days after the Clone Wars. In the archives, it is said that Senator Bail Organa had seen one after being kidnapped by Maris Brood. If everything she read was true, they were in deep trouble. This breed was the most aggressive, and most ill-tempered breed of rancors of them all. These two appeared to have something added in addition to its normal characteristics. She couldn't't identify what it was, but she could feel something ancient about these two monsters coming their way.

Gideon shook his head in disbelief. "There are no rancors on Ando; this doesn't make sense!"

"Someone found—or created—these beasts, and imported them here. They're supposedly native to Dathomir."

"Well, we're about to be rancor chow, none-the-less!"

The two Bull Rancors grunted as they stalked the two of them. Both creatures were salivating; thankful for the meal that they were about to have. Gideon fired his blaster at the one closest to him, hitting it in the chest. The creature was unfazed; the shot only left a small scorch march on his thick hide. All he had succeeded in do was to further infuriate it. The rancor made a hissing noise that he had no idea they were capable of making.

The other rancor reached its massive claw down to grab Jada; but she swatted it away with her lightsaber. Its claw were so thick, her blade would have to make more than a brief contact to cut through . The rancor pulled its hand half-way back, before trying again for her. Like the small reptilian carnivores, the rancor must have sensed that she was wounded. It made another attempt to grab her, but she stuck her blade into its giant claw. It quickly associate pain with her purple blade. The only advantage that she and Gideon had was that rancors were not all-that-smart; it took them awhile to learn from their mistakes.

The rancors circled them, contemplating a way to break through their defense. They finally decided to work together and go after Jada. Both of them reached out for her and tried to trap her between their claws, like a infectious rodent. In her state, this was trouble for her. She fought the pain and ineptly ducked under one claw and tried to roll between the fingers of the other. Her injured leg prevented her from making aperfect roll, and her arm was grazed by the its claw. She yelped as her entire right arm felt as if it was on fire.

Gideon raced to her aid, quickly wrapping his outer vest around her bloody arm. She knew she should have been polite and thanked him, but instead she acted like she did not even notice his act of kindness. She just hated being tended to, especially by the likes of this swindler.

She found her lightsaber on the ground in front of her. The problem was that she had lost most of the feeling in her right arm. Using her left hand, she called her weapon into her hand. She was not naturally left-handed, but she could still put up a decent fight.

Another problem was now presenting itself: she was starting to feel lightheaded. That meant she was losing a lot of blood. It was not going to be long before she would lose her fight against the darkness.

Gideon aimed his blasters at one the rancors and fired for its eyes. The monster shook his head preventing him from hitting his target. The monster roared out of frustration.

The two rancors slowly pressed in on them. They were done playing with their food. "Any ideas?"

"None," she replied, breathing heavily.

A loud thump echoed through the forest shortly followed by a tree exploding from behind one of the bull rancors. Both creatures ceased their attack as three Aqualish battle tanks plowed towards them. All three concentrated their plasma canons at the closest rancor, and all of their shots hit the beast in the side of the head. After five hits it still stood defiant. The beast roared with rage as another blast of a plasma canon entered its mouth and hit the back of its throat. Smoke rose from its mouth as it collapsed, shaking the ground upon impact.

Jada saw one problem with their plan of attack. Attacking one at time, opened themselves up to an attack by the other rancor, and that was exactly what was happening. They did not see the second monster sneak around and come up from behind. Before they had the chance to rotate the plasma cannon, it brought down two giant fists upon the rear tank, destroying the plasma canon and causing it to cave in. To make sure that the tank would pose no more danger, with both hands, it picked the remains up above his head and threw it into a tree, utterly destroying the tank, and killing anyone inside.

Jada's instincts took over. Despite the pain that wracked her body, and the overwhelming sensation to slip into unconsciousness, she pushed herself as hard as she could—with the assistance of the Force. She ran, looking like nothing more than a blur to Gideon, towards the last remaining Bull Rancor. With the violet blade of her lightsaber in her left hand, she used the Force to push herself off the ground to land onto its wrist. She bounced herself off the wrist and up towards the monster's head. Swinging her saber on the way up, she cut the beast right across the eye.

The monster squealed painfully. She landed on its scalp and immediately tried to stab her blade down for the kill. The problem was, there was a very strong armor around his head, and her blade was not able to pierce it. The rancor angrily bent his neck back to throw her off of. Being thrown from that height would kill her, so she had no choice but to drop her weapon and grab hold of a horn with her left hand.

With the beast's constant fidgeting, it was extremely difficult to hold on with just her left hand. With a lack of feeling in her right arm, she was at an end of what she could do. In hindsight, this attempt to save the other two tanks was foolish. Instead of saving lives, she had only made things worse for the good people of Ando. The hide and armor of these beasts were unlike that of any other species of Rancor. The only weaknesses she could detect were the eyes and the mouth.

She held on with everything her body had left to give. She hoped that the two remaining battle tanks would take the first available shot they had, even with her on top of the beast. It was the only way anyone here were going to survive this.

As if they had read her thoughts, they open fired at the gigantic beast, taking one shot at a time. It swirved its neck, using its little neck maneuverability it could to avoid the shots. Finally, a shot made contact, hitting it in the last good eye it had. Bellowing out an agonizing roar, the next shot went down its throat, instantly killing it. Jada held on as the beast fell forward; if she timed this correct, she knew she could survive this, but it was going to be very painful.

She fought against gravity to hold on, but she could feel her grip slipping. As the deceased Rancor hit the ground, she lost her whole grip and she found herself flying towards the tanks. Hitting the thick grass softened the blow slightly, but it still felt like landing on a bed of shattered glass. The last thing she remembered were seeing a bunch of blurry blobs walking towards her. After that, everything went dark.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Gideon wanted to rush to Jada's side to see if she was still alive, but there was a hover cruiser that had been hidden behind the battle tanks, and the people onboard were already making their way to her. He prepared his wrist translator in case none of the Aqualish were able to speak basic. He had held hope that these Aqualish represented someone that owed him a favor, so he could get her to safety and get out of dodge. That hope, however, quickly vanished when he noticed a human walking among them.

Dressed in a grey, formal robe, there was no mistaking that he was a member of the New Republic senate. He was an older male, with wavy-short white hair. Why a senator would be out here in the middle of nowhere, he could not guess. The way the senator approached Jada, instantly told him that he knew this particular Jedi. "Get a medical capsule, immediately!"

One of the Aqualish, a particularly grotesque Quara, grunted an affirmative and took two of his comrades with him to carry the request out. The human then turned his attention towards Gideon, who was not sure whether he should have his blaster out or not. Seeing how they came to their rescue, he figured they've earned enough respect to not have a blaster pointed back at them.

"You two are very fortunate that we saw your ship crash onto this island. I am Wedge Antilles, Corellian senator of the New Republic."

Gideon tried to play smooth, not wanting to reveal too much about himself to the senator. "Thank goodness you showed up when you did. May I ask why a senator of the New Republic is all the way out here on a remote planet like Ando?"

"Nothing too critical or important. We're just here to hammer out a simple commerce trade agreement. We're looking to trade some new technology for a large shipment of salt. We were in the middle of negotiations when one of Lo Monar's aides saw a fiery streak across the sky. Come now, let's get you back to civilization. I'm afraid Jada's injuries are serious, and we may have her to take her to Corellia for proper treatment."

"Anything to get out of this mud hole, no offense," He quickly said to the Quara's who donned a not-so-happy look on their faces at his comment. Obviously, he was not going to need his wrist translator today.

* * *

><p>He was almost ready to explode with rage. His cherished pets were somehow slain. Darth Kahn could not believe that mere mortals were able to kill them. A few more minutes, and the Jedi and the smuggler would have been destroyed, and his mission would have been a success. This injustice cannot be allowed to stand.<p>

He could leave his hiding place, right now, and take care of every one of them without any problems; with the Jedi out of commission, it would be incredibly easy. However, it would also be very cowardly to kill a Jedi when they were helpless. No, he wanted a duel, and he was willing to wait as long as it took to get it. He was ready to follow them to any planet and wait until the Jedi was ready, and when she was, he would attack and slay her and the smuggler.

* * *

><p>They were taken to a much larger island on Ando. This island had a large primitive city, with walls covered in swamp vines. It was probably the capital city of Ando, but their version of an upper class city could be compared to a poverty stricken city anywhere else. The Aqualash may not live luxurious lives in comparison to other species, but they do alright for themselves. Of course, their aggressive natures made them more likely to become smugglers, pirates, and other types of scum. That was how many Aqulash made their money, but those who have taken that rout, seldom live on their home world. That was why this city appeared to be on the losing end of the war against the jungles of Ando.<p>

They arrived on the landing pad, where the senator's Corellian yacht was already being prepped for take-off. As the hover craft parked onto the landing pad, the Quara carefully lowered the medical capsule off the transport. Senator Antilles did not leave the side of the medical capsule, which Gideon found odd. As they made their way to the yacht, Jada's eye fluttered open. Her eyes lazily focused in on the senator, and a faint smile appeared on her face. "W—W—Wedge?"

"How're you doing, dear?" The cupped her hand between his.

"B—Been better." It was a fight for her just to remain conscious.

"You go ahead and sleep. We'll be taking you back to Corellia to help you get better." He waved for two of his Corellian guards to leave their post and help load the medical capsule onto the yacht. "Careful with her, that's my goddaughter on that capsule."

A Quara came out onto the landing pad to welcome the senator back to the city. Probably the most well dressed Aqualish he had ever seen, Gideon wondered if he was a senator as well. He could always get an idea of one's moral stands by watching the way one walks. This Quara walked with authority, but also with one with high morals. If he had secrets to hide, that usually manifested in slight hesitation in each step; someone who is more intelligent and were better at lies tended to overcompensate and take wider strides between steps. This Quara walked with no guilt on his conscious and nothing to hide. He would be more than easy to swindle under the right circumstances.

Senator Antilles nodded to the Quara in respect, confirming Gideon's read on him. "Lo Monar, I deeply regret that we will have to continue our negotiations at a later time. I have to get the young Jedi back to my home world for medical attention."

Lo Monar spoke in his native language, but fortunately for Gideon, his translator picked up on his voice from where he stood. "[Under the circumstances, I understand completely. You are a very respectable man, Senator Antilles, and I know our salt is very important to your people. I am willing to come with you to Corellia with a large container of salt as goodwill towards your people. If time permits, we can hammer out a final deal.]"

"You're a very honorable man, Lo Monar," the senator replied. "I'll be proud to have you join us. On behalf of my people, we thank you for your understanding, your generosity, and your hospitality."

After arranging a few final matters, Senator Lo Monar was escorted on board of the yacht. Figuring this was as good of a time as any to part ways, Gideon made his way towards the Senator. "Well, thank you again for coming to our rescue. For a minute, I thought we were goners."

Wedge raised an eyebrow. "I never did get your name."

Gideon figured it was the least he could give him for everything the senator did for him. His name was not widely known across the stars—yet. "The name's Gideon."

"Gideon," the senator said almost as if he the name was giving him a bad taste in his mouth. "Don't you need a ride off of this planet? I'm more than willing to give you a ride."

"No thanks, I've got a friend in these parts who can help me out and fix my ship, as well."

"I see," Wedge replied. "Well, you'll be glad to know that we already found your ship, and will be hauling it back to Corellia, with us, where the top mechanics at our disposal will work around the clock to restore it to its former glory. The only issue will be, whether you'll get the ship back, or not."

Gideon had a feeling in the back of his mind that went off whenever bad news was imminent; it was sensation that had gotten him out of lots or trouble in the past. It came in handy in his line of work. It was the same sense that he was feeling right at that second. "Now wait just a minute..."

Senator Antilles showed a strength that went beyond his frail, elderly image that he displayed. Gideon had no idea what he did as a younger man, but something told him that it had something to do with the military. "As damaged as it may be, I recognize the Millennium Falcon when I see it; their previous owners were personal friends of mine."

That second sense of his was blaring wildly, now. His rotten luck had carried all the way out here to Ando. He had a strong premonition of where the senator was taking this conversation.

The senator looked him over from head-to-toe. "I also recognize a smuggler when I see one. A Jedi and a smuggler are traveling together and crash lands on a planet. The only reason I can see this situation playing out is that you are under arrest of the Jedi Order; and it just so happens that I'm very close friends with the Jedi Grand Master."

"What a coincidence," Gideon grumbled underneath his breath.

"Until Jada can clear matters up, then I've got to err on the side of caution. You're coming with us to Corellia, and you'll be confined to your quarters until we reach Corellia, and then will remain in our custody there until Jada can testify of your innocence."

Two guards came up from behind, and took the blasters of his holsters. "Hey!" Gideon protested. The guards grabbed him by the arms and escorted him to the yacht. "Well, I suppose no good deed goes unpunished. This is a fine way of thanking me for saving the life of your precious Jedi." He shouted all the way up the ramp of the yacht.

* * *

><p>Well on their way to Corellia, Wedge entered his quarters, more than ready for a good nap. He was not the young fighter-pilot he once was. While he was young, he was always in his element with the war going on with the Empire. When the war ended, he quickly became bored. Peace time made things too quiet for his liking; he needed to stay busy. He would always sign up for the most dangerous assignments whenever they came up. If his life was not on the line, then he wasn't interested.<p>

He would have stayed in the military for the rest of the life, but when he reached a certain age, he was forced to retire, especially with no wars on the horizon. That was the lowest point of his life. After a year of brooding, he finally picked himself up and decided to go into politics. Being out of the touch with what's going on in the galaxy was just not acceptable to him. If he could not be on the front lines, than he needed to be part of the decision making process.

There's been many years he had almost regretted the decision to go into politics. He had known corruption was common in politics, but he had no idea how bad it actually was. Things have only gotten worse in recent years. It's gotten so bad that Wedge had pledge not to serve again after this term. He was too old for all of the political games that these young senators enjoyed playing. Most of them saw their position as a way to get rich; they cared more about the power they held instead of the people they were supposed to represent.

Wedge slowly made his way to his holotransmitter. Before he could take his nap, there was someone who needed to be informed on recent events. Sitting on a stool in front of the holotransmitter, he pressed a button and waited for the connection. When the connection was made, a holographic image of another older human male appeared, standing before him. "Wedge, this is a pleasant surprise, ol' friend."

"It's been awhile, Luke," Wedge agreed.

"So what can I help you with?"

"Well, I've had a very interesting day. I was on Ando, in the middle of negotiating a trade deal, when we came across your young apprentice."

"Jada? What's she doing there?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. We found her and a smuggler named Gideon on one of the islands. They crash landed here; Jada is pretty banged up. I'm rushing her back to Corellia for immediate medical attention."

"A smuggler? This is curious, indeed," Luke replied. "The Jedi council sent her to apprehend a bounty hunter, not a smuggler."

"Here's the kicker. The smuggler's ship, which they crashed, is none other than the Millennium Falcon."

Luke remained silent for a long minute. Though his face did not show it, he was surprised by this news. He could see him deep in thought, remembering Han and his sister. As much as he tried to hide it, Luke had been devastated by the death of his sister and brother-in-law. He tried to hide behind his Jedi authority, but Wedge knew him well enough to know when he was hurting.

"It seems she was in the process of bringing him back to the council, to force him to explain why he had the Falcon," Luke said in just above a mumble. "If they crash landed on Ando, then that means that someone is trying to stop us from finding out the truth behind Han and Leia's assassination."

"Either that or they'd hit a long run of bad luck. When we found them, they were being attacked by two strange looking rancors. I've never seen monsters like these before."

"Rancors on Ando? I don't know of any species of rancor which are indigenous to that planet," Luke mused. "Describe them to me."

"They both had four large tusks, black eyes, a bluish grey skin, and a very nasty attitude."

The Jedi grand master rubbed his white, stubble of a beard. "If those were Bull Rancors then the galaxy could be in grave danger. We've got some questions that need answering, quickly."

Wedge knew Luke well enough to know when he was holding back information that he did not want made public. Whatever 'threat' that Luke was sensing, he may not be ready to tell anyone outside the Jedi Order yet, but Wedge trusted him with his life. If he sensed trouble on the horizon, then that meant trouble was coming.

"Wedge, do me a favor, and have Jada contact me as soon as she is capable."

"I will, and Luke... she'll be okay, I promise you."

Luke smiled politely. "May the Force be with you."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Jada awoke in a nice, warm cot. She had no idea how long she'd been out, but she felt better than she had in a long while. She had been pushing herself to her limits for longer than she should have. Her master warned her several times about overexerting herself. She couldn't help it; it was a trait she inherited from her mother.

Looking at her arm, she saw a large scar stretching the length of her entire upper arm. The trips to the bacta tank and her Jedi healing trance had done wonders, though the scar was less than desirable. She turned her attention on her ankle and rolled it around. Her leg was slightly stiff, and the pain in her ankle was minimal. Though she was sure the medical droid would object, it was enough—for her liking—to get herself up and ready to leave for Coruscant. The longer they stayed here, the sooner the threat, that had been following them, would find its way here—wherever here was.

The door to the medical center opened, and Senator Wedge Antilles entered the room. "You're awake! Well rested, I assume?"

"I feel like I've just awakened from a two-sleep-cycle hibernation ," Jacina smiled.

"Try eight." Wedge replied. "You were in bad shape!"

"That long! Where is Gideon Mars, we must return to Coruscant immediately!" Jada said, sitting-up straight.

"You need to rest. You're still not fully healed. The medbot told me that another day or two and you will be ready to be released."

Jada shook her head, Wedge had no idea what was happening; as it was, they've been strangely fortunate that no move had been made against them in those days she's been out. "You don't understand, we're being chased by the Galactic Alliance. They've been unusually aggressive in pursuing me."

"The Empire—I hate them with every bone in my body," Wedge muttered. The time he spent as an X-wing pilot really instilled a dislike of the Empire in him. He just wasn't able to shake it after the peace treaty was signed. To that day, Wedge still did not put it past the Empire to sign the treaty to lull the New Republic into a false sense of peace. This attack on Jada only fueled his distrust of the Empire—or the Galactic Alliance—whatever they called themselves these days. "However, even they wouldn't be so foolish to launch an attack on Corellia; we're way too fortified for them to even consider it. At the very least, I urge you to remain over night, and join me and Senator Lo Monar for supper."

Jada knew that staying on Corellia was a very bad idea; they've been there too long as it was. She could read it in Wedges face, that he was willing to do whatever it takes to get her to stay one more day. This was an unspoken ultimatum—a blackmail, if you will. Of course, she could ignore the warning and leave anyway, and Wedge would not force the issue, but she respected him too much to defy him like that. "Very well, we'll stay."

"Good," Wedge smiled with a nod. He started to make his way towards the door and then came to a stop when a thought suddenly reemerged. "Oh, I forgot. I have your friend Gideon incarcerated. I had no idea if he was under arrest of the Jedi Order or not. I hope I didn't do wrong by you—or him."

Jada laughed at the thought of how angry Gideon had to be spending a week in the prison barge. It was the first good laugh she had in a long while. "You did okay, but I think we can let him out now. I'm sure he'll be a good boy now that I'm awake."

"I thought as much," Wedge replied. "Oh, and one last thing. Master Skywalker asked me to tell you to contact him as soon as you are up to it. It sounded urgent."

"Thanks, Wedge—for everything."

* * *

><p>Still a little stiff, it took Jada a little extra time to get dressed. She agreed to stay and take it easy for one more day, but that did not mean she had to stay in the medical ward for that whole time. There were still important matters that had to be taken care off like contacting her Jedi master, and releasing Gideon from his imprisonment. After making her presentable enough to address her Jedi Master, she made her way to the miniature holoprojector at the far end of the medical ward. The technology was outdated, but it appeared to be in good enough order.<p>

Putting in the appropriate settings to contact the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, she waited until the Jedi Grand Master's holographic imaged appeared on the pad. "Master, I apologize for my absence."

"Jada, it's good to see you alive and well. I've heard that you've been on quite an adventure."

Jada bowed his head in reverence to her Jedi Master. "It's been much more than I bargained for, Master. I'm afraid I was prevented from apprehending the bounty hunter by someone who's gone to great length to make themselves look like the Galactic Alliance."

"But you're convinced that it wasn't?"

Jada noticed that he didn't seem surprised by anything she had just said. The Jedi council had to be made aware of some of the circumstances of recent events. She wondered if Wedge actually got anything out of Gideon while she was recovering. "When I encountered the soldiers, I discovered that they were nothing more than androids outfitted with holographic imaging devices. These androids are unlike anything that the New Republic or the Galactic Alliance posses."

"Interesting," Master Skywalker said, rubbing his chin.

"Then there is the matter of the Star Destroyers that came after me. They appear to be a hybrid of the Victory-class, the Imperial-class, and the Pellaeon-class Star Destroyers. I've never seen anything like them."

"You're right, the Galactic Alliance has been slowly dwindling the number of Star Destroyers down. They've already retired the entire line of Imperial-class ships. The Jedi council has also learned the Galactic Alliance has had plans stolen for those very class Star Destroyers you mentioned."

"Someone is really trying to vilify the Galactic Alliance," Jada commented. "Master, do you suppose that this has something to do with the threat of civil war in the New Republic?"

"Very observant, young apprentice," Luke responded. "The Jedi council has reasons to suspect that threat of civil war is being fueled, and I believe you've pretty much confirmed our fears. Wedge mentioned something about rancors on Ando?"

"Yes Master, that's a real mystery. They were Bull Rancors."

"I came to the same conclusion based on Wedges description. There were supposed to have gone extinct twenty years ago." Jada could see a grave look on her master's face. There was more to the mysterious encounter with the Bull Rancors than she had realized. "This presents us with two possible threats, neither presents us with a very good scenario."

"But Master, now that we know that someone is pulling the strings, can't we stop things from getting worse?"

Luke shook his head. "Convincing the Jedi council is one thing, but politicians think on a whole different level. In the New Republic's current state, it will take overwhelming evidence to convince them. As it is, there's a growing distrust, of the Jedi, infecting the New Republic, thanks to Senator Balrosa's heavy influence. Talking about evidence, I was told about a smuggler?"

Apparently, Wedge did not get too much out of Gideon; she couldn't say that she was surprised. "During my mission, I've come across a smuggler named Gideon Mars. I suspect he has knowledge pertaining to the assassination; he had the Millennium Falcon."

The Jedi Grand Master showed remained calm, but she knew that he found this news as deeply troubling as she has. However, what he said next completely blew her away. "I sense a deception. What are the chances that the bounty hunter who's a suspect in the assassination, was meeting with this very smuggler at the very moment you were ready to move in?

"I don't know, Master," Jada admitted.

"This sounds too much like an elaborate set-up. We're being offered this smuggler in exchange for the bounty hunter, to throw us off. "

"But Master, Gideon Man had the Millennium Falcon. He was there!"

"I suspect that after we question him, we will know enough about who we may be up against, but not to stop the looming war. Until we know for certain, I want you to bring him to Coruscant and we'll see if we can identify this new threat."

"We'll leave first thing tomorrow, Master. I've pretty much been blackmailed into staying another day to recover."

Luke chuckled. He had been close friends with Wedge for many years, and he knew how stubborn he could be. He also knew Jada, and how strong headed she could be. If Wedge had to blackmail her to stay another day, then it was done out of a last resort. "Very well, may the Force be with you."

* * *

><p>After a long journey, Darth Krull and Darth Bison were finally back on board the Vicarious, the Star Destroyer that Sithious resided on. After their successful mission in killing the Trandoshan bounty hunters, there was no doubt that they would be sent to kill the Jedi. Surely now, they had pleased their master enough to earn that responsibility. They were tired of these pathetic missions; they were ready for a challenge. However, their master had continuously treated them as mindless minions.<p>

They walked down the ramp and promptly made their way into the main chambers where their master was awaiting them. They knelt down and bowed their head in reverence to their master. "We have returned, master!"

"Good. I have no need you at this moment. You may go." Sithiout didn't even bother look at them. It was yet again, the total lack of respect that they've come to expect from their esteemed master.

Darth Krull was not willing to give up so easily. "Master, we wish to go after the lady Jedi and the smuggler. We can overpower and eliminate them without any unforeseen problems."

"That won't be necessary. I have more faith in Darth Kahn's ability todo what needs to be done."

"But master, we're more powerful than him."

"Are you questioning my judgment, my apprentices?" Sithious stared into the faces of his two apprentices. They finally got his full attention, but it was not the kind they were hoping for.

"No Master." Darth Krull bowed his head again, to show he meant no disrespect.

"Good, now leave. I will summon you when I need you again!"

"Yes, my master"

The two apprentices stood up and walked out of the main chamber. As soon as the door slid shut, the two of them looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. "He's getting weak and incompetent," Darth Krull muttered.

"Yes, and I'm tired of the lack of respect," Darth Bison growled.

Darth Krull grinned. "We need to eliminate him. We should be the ones to lead the conquest of the Jedi! Together, the galaxy will crumble before our power."

"I bet his soup tastes good," Darth Bison said, imagining the power that he could gain from devouring the dark lord's brains. "What of that impudent Kartel?"

"He will serve us, or die."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Jada and Senator Antilles were en route to Gideon's quarters, where he was under house arrest. She could feel agitation emanating from him; his rage was going to explode the moment they stepped into the room. She promised herself that she was not going to wound his pride further by laughing at the irony of the situation.

"I must admit I'm not looking forward to this," Wedge said walking next to Jada down the giant corridor which was bustling with hundreds of Corellians mixed with a few off-world aliens. As they walked among the people, they captured the eyes of a few onlookers. Whether they were looking at Wedge—a well-known senator in the New Republic—or her—an all powerful Jedi Knight, she could not tell. It was hard for her to go anywhere without being pointed out as a Jedi Knight; of course, wearing a Jedi tunic was the worse way to look inconspicuous. "Han was usually a very mellow kinda guy, but I've heard rumors of the legendary Corellian-smuggler wrath of his."

Jada smiled as they veered right unto a private corridor. "Don't worry; you have a big-strong Jedi by your side to protect you."

"Very funny," Wedge grunted. "I swear, you have your mother's wit, and if it wasn't for your black hair, you would be a spitting image of her."

After a long walk through the private corridor, they finally reached the door to Gidon's quarters. Two Corellian guards stood at attention in their white military uniforms. "I think it's time that our guest is released from custody, now. Thank you, gentlemen."

"As you wish, Senator." The two security guards left their post and headed down the private corridor in the direction they had just come.

"Well, let's get this over with," Wedge said, loth to push the door that would open the door. He pressed his thumb onto the thumb pad and the door slid upward.

Gideon was standing in the middle of his quarters, which look more like a miniature luxury suite than small, confined, personal quarters. Apparently, Wedge went out of the way to appease the smuggler in case he had come to the wrong conclusion about him. Jada could tell that he had done a lot of pacing around in this room, and was perhaps in the middle of doing so again before their visit.

"Well, look who's finally decide to grace me with their presence," He said sardonically towards the senator before looking towards Jada. "You're looking good as new."

"I'm doing much better, thank you."

"Good, cause I should send the both of you to the medical ward for this! You've had me locked away for nearly two weeks; after all I've done for you two. You can't put someone of my personality and caliber in a cage, okay? I may be a scoundrel, but I'm a very—delicate—scoundrel!"

Jada crossed her arms in front on her and frowned. "Are you done with your wallowing, yet, or can we go get something to eat?"

Gideon's right eyebrow arched up. "Are we talking about more of the second-rate, prison-like rations that I've been eating the past two weeks?"

"No," Wedge assured him. "You two will join me and Senator Lo Monar for a very nice, hardy feast."

"Then, by all means, what are we waiting for? Lead the way!"

Jada smirked, trying to suppress a full blown laugh. She knew that all this hostility he was displaying was nothing but show. It was a typical swindle; he was trying to play on their emotions, trying to make her feel guilty for letting him be caged up. He was about to butter her up for something. "You need to freshen up or anything before we go?"

He looked as if she had insulted his looks. "I'm more than ready. Let's go get some of that food!" He stepped out of his quarters and started walking towards the main corridor.

"Whatever you say," Jada mumbled as she and Wedge joined him on the way towards the banquet hall.

Gideon did not go very far before he started to slow down to allow Jada and Wedge to catch up. He had no idea where he was going, but he was not going to allow himself to look foolish. He was going to try to spark a conversation to try to save face. Jada could see through his façade, and she was going to use it to her advantage.

"So, it's good to see you all healed up and stuff. Perhaps we can get to talking about going our separate ways after this meal."

And there it was; he was trying to weasel his way out of going to Coruscant. She had never met someone so determined to stay away from the New Republic capital than he was. It made her wonder what he was trying to hide. "When you're willing to tell me how you came to acquire the Millennium Falcon and what you know about the assassination, then we'll talk." She grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to stop walking along with her. She turned him around to face her. "You may be too wrapped up in your own world to even care, but I'm trying to stop a civil war. A war of this magnitude will not just affect the New Republic, but the entire galaxy. A new Empire will come into power, one far worse than the one under Palpatine. Is that really the kind of galaxy you want to live in?

Gideon was slow to respond. He had no idea how to answer back to her challenge. They continued their way down the main corridor; leaving an awkward silence in their wake. Jada would have sworn that the smuggler would have remained quiet all the way to the banquet hall when he suddenly broke out of his silence in a very loud, sarcastic explosion. "I'm sorry to burst your all-important bubble, but there's nothing that I can tell you that you'll find valuable. Yes, I was on Wayland at the time of the crash. I was gonna meet a client who wanted to hire me for my services, but he never showed up. Instead, I got a close up view of the crash."

"Did you see who it was attacking the Falcon?"

"Yes, I used my superior sense of sight, to look up from the ground and out into space. Of course I didn't see anything!" His sarcasm was grating on her nerves, but she kept silent and allowed him explain the situation. "I only saw the end results. I waited a whole day to see if the attackers would come to confirm their deaths, but no one came. So, I went ahead and buried them, and made things look like they were completely incinerated, just to be safe. To make it look convincing, I had to take away the wreckage, so I decided to take to a friend of mind to have it fixed up, and made the ship my own."

"Why didn't you just say this at the beginning?" Wedge asked.

"Hey, I have an image to protect," Gideon replied dryly. "I can't have it go around that I'm soft or anything. That'd pretty much be the end of my smuggling career."

She sensed that everything he had just said was the complete truth, which meant that he was correct; he did not have any information that could save the New Republic. However, there was still one question that she needed answering. "If this is all you could tell us, then why are you so opposed to going to Coruscant?"

He was not so quick to answer this question, or rather, he was reluctant to do so. It was a question that she was clearly not going to get a definitive answer to. "I—'m not really interested in talking about that, right now. I, though, am very interested in talking about getting my ship back when the repairs are done."

Wedge could feel Gideon's eyes glaring over at him. He was convinced that he was telling the truth, and that he was very honorable in his intentions. However, he appeared to be very reluctant in making such a decision. Therefore, he did what he probably thought was the only logical thing. "I'll leave that decision up to Jada."

Jada gave him a _'thanks-a-lot'_ glance over as the decision was now on her shoulders. What he did, he did out of honor. The ship should have been passed down to one of the solo siblings, but the problem was, none of them would find any use for it. Still, it had a lot of sentimental value, and now she had to decide. on behalf of the Solo's, whether this man was worthy of the ship. Something inside of her told her, that her decision should be based on what their father would have wanted. If Han solo was here right now, would he give this man his most prized possession?

Whether Gideon realized it or not, his personality was very similar to Han Solo's. If she didn't know any better, she would have been convinced that Gideon was his second coming. There was so much about this smuggler that reminded her of him, and something told her that these two would have gotten along splendidly. "Very well, the ship's yours, and after this meal, you're free to go on with your life."

"Thank you."

After a long walk, Wedge finally led them to the door to the banquet hall. Gideon stood in front of the door, feeling like a new man. "Well, what are we waiting for? I feel like celebrating; I've got a new lease on life!"

Wedge pressed the thumb pad to open the door, but as he did, Jada found herself nearly overwhelmed with fear and danger. The sensation was so powerful that it caused her to react before her mind knew what she was doing. She shoved him to the ground just in time to avoid the swoosh of a red blade. Her instincts were still on fire, and gave her just enough warning to be able to dodge another red blade.

Before she knew it, she found herself dodging two red blades as the mystery assailant came at her, refusing to go give her the time to draw her weapon. His movements were like a blur; she had no time to get a good look at his face. All of her focus was on avoiding those red blades that were coming at her in all directions. His attacks were random and not settling into any form of pattern. Dodging them took every ounce of concentration and agility she had.

Being forced backwards, she knew in the back of her mind that the wall was approaching. His attacks were becoming even more difficult to dodge. She found herself having to flip in the air to avoid a knee-high attack, but that put her in harm's way for a chest-high slash. It took the Force and her agility to twist in mid-air, to narrowly avoid the tip of the red blade.

Back on her feet, and now pushed back as far as she could, she shot her hand up just in time to call upon the Force to catch both of the attacker's light saber blades just barley over the center of her skull. Caught in her Force grip, she could now get a good look at the face of the attacker. There was no mistaking the bright yellow eyes, with the blood-red outline; he was a sith Lord. The horns around the scalp, and his black face with a strong red presence in the form of unintelligent designs and stripes identified him as a male Dathomir Zabrak.

The galaxy had not seen anyone of his species since Darth Maul, shortly before the battle of Yavin. Allegedly, Darth Vader and Darth Maul had a duel to the death in which Vader proved to be victorious. Since then, most of the galaxy had forgotten that Dathomir even existed... until now.

Jada ventured a look past the Sith Lord to see that Wedge had helped Gideon up and guided him across the dining hall, trying to attract the least amount of attention. Gideon had no idea what to make of this current situation.

* * *

><p>"Is that another Jedi that tried to have my head?"<p>

"No," Wedge replied solemnly. "I would venture to guess that we're looking at a Sith lord."

"What's that; an evil Jedi or something? Perhaps I should lend a hand." He could not help but feel foolish, as if he was supposed to know what a Sith was.

"You really don't know anything about the Sith, do you? "

And that embarrassingly confirmed his ignorance. Based on the laser swords he carried, he was going to stick with him being an evil Jedi of sort. Whether he was or just a highly trained assassin, Gideon could not help but feel restricted. He was fighting against his instincts of self preservation that wanted him to pull out his gun. He had no idea why he had a sudden urge to come to her aide. He was no longer her responsibility, or was it the other way around? Either way, he owed her nothing. Why did he feel like he did? "Well, he has two of those...thingies, and she only has one. She has confronted a Sith before, right?"

"Actually, since we haven't seen a Sith Lord for over thirty standard-cycles, I would venture to say that this is her first encounter."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Jada used the Force to push the dark lord back to put some space between them. Finally with the opportunity to do so, she ripped out her lightsaber. The violet-white blade roared to life, inviting her adversary to try attacking her again. Last time, she was unarmed and unready for his attack; that was no longer the case.

Jada ventured to glance to her right and noticed the dead body of Senator Lo Monar, with his head having rolled underneath the banquet table. The poor Aqualish only had time to leap from his seat before his beheading. Whoever this assassin from Dathomir was, he had been waiting for them. It could not be a coincidence that they confronted two Bull Rancors on Ando, and the appearance of this dark lord, here on Corellia; both were from the same system. This was the same adversary that had chased them from Tatooine, and now had followed them here.

Her first thought was to assume that they wanted Gideon dead to avoid testifying to the senate, but the problem was that he didn't know anything of great value. Did this new menace still believed that he could be a threat to them? Perhaps he wasn't the target at all; perhaps... she was.

Trying to figure the motive, right now, needed to be the least of her concerns. If she was right, she was looking at duel with a Sith lord; she had never fought with a Sith before. It's been decades since they had been seen last. Most of her fights have been against other formable advisories that had taken their place since the Sith's disappearance, namely the rouge Mandalorian group: The Jedi Hunters. The Jedi had been at war with with them for nearly ten standard-cycles. It's been only a two or three cycles since the Jedi had finally prevailed against them, forcing them to back down and go into hiding.

The war actually started when they kidnapped her as she was still a young teenage girl. That battle, for her rescue, was how her mother died. She gave up her life to save Jada's; it was the worst day in her life. It took her months to overcome the guilt and find her way back into the light. She had come dangerously close to turning to the dark side of the Force, but thanks to the guidance of her mentor, she came back to become a much stronger Jedi Knight. Unfortunately, she was not the only who had to walk down this journey during this time; her mother wasn't the only death in the family at the start of this war. The family experience two deaths at the hands of the Jedi Hunters on that day.

She returned her glance forward, and looked around the dark lord towards Wedge and Gideon, where there were lost at what to do. Their way out of the banquet was too close to striking distance of the assassin. Wedge was composed well enough to know that they wanted to attract as little attention to themselves as possible, otherwise the 'Sith' might try to use them as leverage. She admired that he still had the courage not to be deathly fearful of him. He was still a young warrior at heart. Perhaps deep down inside, he had faith in her abilities. At that point, she wished she was as comfortable with them as he was.

With her eyes, she communicated with him her intentions. She was going try to bring this fight to the other side of the large banquet hall, and give them a chance to leave. If she could keep this dark lord attention solely on her, then they might have a chance to leave, unless his ultimate goal was Gideon and not her. If that was the case, she was going to have a major handicap in this duel. Having never faced a Sith before, she could not attest to how honorably they fought. For the most part, the Jedi Hunters were honorable until they were backed into a corner. They had only cared about purging the universe of the Jedi; everyone else was innocent in their eyes. Somehow, though, she suspected that would not be the case here, now.

The Sith charged at her with both of his lightsabers raised over his head. She angled herself, so not to be pushed back into the wall again, as she brought her blade horizontally over her head to block His attack. As he continued his assaults, she allowed him to push her back, following besides the length of the banquet table. Occasionally, she stopped and tried to push back for an attack or two, so not to raise suspicion. After a few offensive maneuvers, she again commenced her retreat to the back end of the room. Stepping backwards, she came to the dead senator lying on the floor. She tried to step over the body, but as she approached the body, the Sith Lord made a strong push forward, hoping to cause her to trip.

It worked, but not as much as he would have hoped. She did trip on the body, and he did try to take advantage by swinging one of his blades for her knees, but she recovered quickly and was able to leap over the blade with relative ease. She was back parrying off his attacks; the longer she could keep him on the offense, the better chance he would be distracted away from Wedge and Gideon.

Now over half-way towards the other end of the room, the Corellian senator and the swindling smuggler were slowly side-stepping towards the exit. Neither one of them took their eyes off the action for single moment; when it came to a duel between two Force users, the battle could take a dramatic turn in an instant. If she could just hold his attention for just a few more moments...

They were nearing the doorway, when the Sith feinted a thrust towards Jada. She fell for his deception, and stepped back to avoid the 'attack'. Instead, he used the force to throw her the rest of the way back to the far end of the room. His attention quickly turned towards Gideon and Wedge and with a flick of his right forefinger, their only way to escape closed abruptly. This was more than enough evidence to suggest that he had plans for both of them. Jada now realized that she could no longer approach this duel from a defensive position; she had to go on the offensive.

Calling upon the Force, she leaped towards the dark lord, half-way from touching the rooftop, holding her blade above her head. As she was landing in front of her advisory, she brought her blade down upon his head, but he managed to get both of his blades up to engage hers.

The blades sizzled between the two warriors as they tested each other's strength. He pushed his blades towards her while she pushed hers towards him. The Sith Assassin grinned, baring his blackened teeth and his blood-shot eyes as he leaned over her. Seeing the overconfidence in his eyes, she knew that she had an opportunity to even her odds out a little. She speedily stepped aside, causing the Sith to stumble forward. She rolled her blade underneath his two, and swung upward as hard as she could.

The move took him by surprise, as her blade pulled one of his lightsabers out of his hand. The weapon deactivated as soon as it left his hand as it spiraled to the back and smacked the wall. Furious by the surprise move, he allowed his anger to overtake him. With a wave of his arm, Jada found herself flying backwards. She hit the wall with incredible force, before falling to the ground.

* * *

><p>The young Jedi was down for the count. After being disarmed of one of his weapons, he decided that the time for playing with his prey was over. He had two targets that had to be taken care of, and he's already been delayed two weeks, and he was sure his master was growing impatient. He could no longer afford to have his fun.<p>

As he prepared to launch a decisive attack that would end the Jedi's life, he sensed danger from behind. He spun around and used his light saber to deflect a series of blaster shots. He leaped into a back flip to land in the center of the table top. He deflected a few more shots before using his free hand to use an invisible force to pull the blaster out of Gideon's hand. Kahn was going to kill the Jedi first, but if the smuggler was so determined to go first, he would be more than happy to grant his wish.

He clasped at the air, calling upon his dark powers to choke the smuggler. The simpleton grabbed at his throat as he felt the air being cut off from his lungs. Raising his clenched hand; the smuggler's feet began to lift off the ground.

* * *

><p>Everything in the room rejoined to become one image in Jada's eyes, though she could already feel a bump rising from the back of her head. Partly surprised that she was still alive, she looked up to find The Dathomirian on top of the table, using his dark powers to lift Gideon off the ground with a strangle hold on his neck. He had his light saber pointed towards Gideon, and she knew what he was about to do.<p>

After deactivating her lightsaber, she sprung up onto her feet, just as he used the Force to pull the smuggler towards the tip of his blade. She leapt onto the table, and out of desperation to save Gideon's life, she dropped kicked the Sith Lord off the table. His feet inadvertently knocked over one of the chairs that were set up at the table and then it was his time to feel the sudden shock of hitting a wall. Jada's attack further agitated her bruises when she dropped onto the hard table top. As for Gideon, when the invisible force released him was instantly cut off, his feet dropped onto the table. The sudden change caused him to trip over his own feet, and fall awkwardly on top of her.

Embarrassed beyond word, it took great restraint, on her part, not to use the Force to throw him off her. It didn't take him long to figure out where he was when found his face inches from hers. After chocking back a cough, he looked at her with his annoying smile. "Hey there, beautiful!"

"Get... off... me... NOW!"

He didn't hesitate to oblige. She had no doubt that if their lives weren't currently in danger, he would not have been so quick to roll off her. Now, she was going to have this embarrassing moment stuck in her mind while she needed to concentrate more on the duel. If she survived this, they were going to have a talk about this; she was almost tempted to try to use the Force to erase his memory, but decided that that crossed ethical bounds, not to mention violated the Jedi code.

Quickly getting up onto her feet after Gideon climbed off the table, she was relieved to see that her advisory was not as fast in recovering from her attack. Seeing that she was about to ignite her blade and attack, the Darthomirian Zabrak called out to his lost light saber from across the room. When she saw what he was trying to do, she knew that she had to keep that second weapon from returning to him. The lightsaber wiggled for a second before heading the call.

Holding her weapon so that the electric blade paralleled to her face, She jumped off the table and forward spiraled in the air. Her blade split a chair in half and even delivered a deep, melted gash in the wall. She landed on the ground, holding her blade in position to defend herself, if needed. Her maneuver did more than just destroy a chair and leave a smoldering slice on the durasteel wall. When the lightsaber flew into his hand, the Sith found only half of it; the other half was lying on the ground by her feet.

Enraged, the Sith came at her with another volley of over-the-shoulder attacks. It was clear that the time to change tactics had come. A lightsaber duel was not won by strength, contrary to what the Sith may think; it was more of a intellectual battle. It was a battle of wits, not necessarily of technique. Anger may increase one's power, but it also open themselves to make clumsy mistakes. Only when one is at peace was when one's intelligence could flow freely. Anger inhibits astuteness, and if she could get him angry enough, she could cause him to make a mistake.

* * *

><p>As Jada and the Sith continued their duel, Gideon slowly sneaked back towards the Corellian senator at the door. "I think you're right. It's time that we give Jada some privacy."<p>

"I've already tried," Wedge said. "We're locked in."

"Hmmm," Gideon rubbed his chin as he looked towards the control panel. He was not an engineer or a splicer, but could hotwiring a door be the same as hotwiring a ship? Perhaps it was well worth the risk of electrocution; one close call with the creepy looking Sith was more than enough for him. "Well, let's see if I can hotwire the thing."

"Uh, please be careful not to do any serious damage, will you?" the Senator pleaded.

Gideon flipped down the face plate and began fiddling with the wires. Just from the looks of it, he knew that this was going to be more complicated than he had hoped. There were more wires inside than he anticipated; perhaps some of these circuits belonged to some kind of security system. Pretty much, this was going to be a guessing game.

"Ow!" After pulling a few wires and trying to cross them, a spark ignited, shocking him with a small amount of voltage. He pulled out his hands and shook the numb feeling out of his finger tips. "That wasn't right. Let's try this again."

From the corner of his eye, he could see the Senator shake his head with disapproval. It appeared he was afraid that Gideon was going to mess some of the building's vital systems. Well, if he did... so be it. It was better than waiting quietly for the Sith to come by and cut their heads off.

* * *

><p>As she continued to parry the over-the-shoulder attacks, she started to do maneuvers that were more... flashy. After blocking an attack from one side, she did a three-sixty spin before blocking the attack from the other. The Sith tried another upper attack from the other side; this time, Jada turned her back towards him and raise her blade over her right shoulder to block the attack.<p>

Looking over her should, she could see the look on the Dathomirian's face. It was not fear that was being displayed; it was more of a frustrated look. He thought this duel would be over by now. He had not expected such resilience from her. It was a step in the right direction.

Trying to take advantage of her back facing him, he raised his lightsaber over his head to bring it down on top of her head. She spun back around and slid down the ground to do a full split, with her right leg pointing forwards and her left behind her. Positioning her violet blade horizontally over her head, their two blades again engaged each other with a loud crackle. Even this dark warrior was taken aback by her move; it was the perfect distraction that she was looking for.

She surprised him by using her flexibility and agility to spin her left leg around to meet up with her right, tripping him in the process. Before he knew it, he found himself flat on his back. Jumping to her feet, she brought her blade down upon him, only to have him get his blade in front of him she was able to deliver the death blow.

Now, he was mad; Jada was making him look like a fool. There was nothing worse to a dark lord than having his pride injured. She could see the fire in his eyes; his rage was boiling over. Wailing out a terrifying scream, she felt some kind of Force explosion impact her like an uppercut to the chin. As she was flying backwards, she used her powers to turn it into a back flip, to safely land on her feet. The Sith Assassin jumped to his feet and began to swing wildly and violently in front of him.

At first, she was far enough away to avoid the tip of his blade by taking a step back, but he was quickly catching up to her. She had to bend backwards to avoid being sliced in half after another swing or two. His electric blade came millimeters from her nose as it swung by. She stood straight up again, and on his next swing, she engaged his blade with hers. The two blades clashed, sizzling profusely as they pressed into each other. Jada looked into his grotesque face with a grin; she had just won the duel, but the anger and hatred in his eyes blinded him to the fact.

Her blade had met with his, with hers on the inside. Now, there was nothing he could do to protect his vital organs. He allowed his anger to cloud his judgment, and now he was dead. To make her victory complete, she ripped her blade backwards, slicing a deep gash across the Sith's chest. After completing her backwards swing, she rammed the edge of her blade through his chest, piercing his heart. And like that, his life fled from his body, and it collapsed to the ground before her as if to submit defeat to the victor.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Gideon got another painful shock trying to hotwire the door. It was yet another failed attempt to earn their freedom, but before he had the chance to try again, the duel was over. The moment the life force departed from the Sith, the door slid open on its own. It took every ounce of restraint to keep his composure.

Nursing his raw fingers, Jada turned off her weapon as she walked past the body of the Sith and around the table towards them. The senator wore a warm smile on his face. "I had no doubt of the outcome; you're just like your father."

Jada smiled grateful before turning her attention towards him. He stopped nursing his hands, hoping to hide his embarrassment. "Well, remind me not to get on your bad side."

Whether he was successful in hiding his slightly singed finger tips or not, he could not tell. Something more pressing was on her mind, something that distracted her from replying to his sarcastic remarks. "I think it's safe to say that he was here to kill both of us. I know I said that you're free to go, but you have no ship, and a very powerful advisory out to kill you. Until we get some answers, I'm placing you in the protective custody of the Jedi Order."

And just like that... his short lived freedom had come to an abrupt end. He knew that she was right; without his own ship to pilot, he was an easy kill for whoever this foe was. That didn't mean he had to like it any. "Great!" Being stuck with one Jedi, as beautiful as she may be, was bad enough; going to Coruscant to be surrounded by them was an absolute nightmare. He had tried all his live to avoid the Republic capital and the Jedi. If they found out about his secret, his life would be as good as over.

"We have to leave for Coruscant right now. I will have to forgo another day of rest."

"Under the current circumstances, I'm in full agreement." The Senator was noticeably disturbed by this attack, and being a Corellian himself, Gideon knew exactly why. This planet was known for its virtually impenetrable security. Since the fall of the Empire, Corellia had never had such a breach of security as what had happened here this day. If word got around the galaxy about what had happened here, there would be a panic sweeping across all systems that has not been seen since the days of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Of course, Corellian pride, in of itself, was not going to allow this to become widely known. The constituents of this planet was going to pressure the Senator not to make mention of this to the Senate. The Jedi Council was going to learn of this; there was no stopping that. He found it unlikely that the news of today's events would not go beyond the Jedi Order.

Jada winced, as if she felt something very uncomfortable. Gideon guessed that she was sensing more trouble on the horizon. His guess proved to be correct. "We have to go now! Corellia is under attack"

* * *

><p>Sithious had informed him that Darth Kahn had been slain, and then slipped into some kind of meditating trance. Kartel found himself having to make a judgment call all on his own. The truth was he still did not understand his master's plan. Everything they've been doing seemed to be counterproductive to their ultimate goal. Yet, his master was fully confident that war was now inevitable. He made him feel like an imbecile for not understanding his plans, but Kartel was convinced that there was a piece to the puzzle that he was not being told.<p>

Without any further orders from his young, dark master, he was left with the decision has to how to respond to Darth Kahn's attack. The last thing he understood of the plan was that they wanted to make the Jedi think that the smuggler, Gideon Mars, was the key to stopping the civil war. Just that was cause of much of his confusion. It would take the New Republic no time at all to learn the truth, if they had not learned it already. His gut told him that they already knew, so why continue with this charade and continue exposing themselves? What made Sithious so certain that even if the Jedi learned the truth, that the Senate would not believe them? Even if the senate did not, what made him so certain the Jedi even needed the Senate to end the threat of war? If this is just a charade, why did he send one of his apprentices to attack? There were just so many things that he just could not figure out.

Having forced to make a sudden judgment, he decided to go with the original plan, and act as if they wanted to capture or kill the Jedi and the smuggler. That was why he ordered a full attack on Corellia. In his mind, this was a mistake, because what if Corellia buried their pride and inform the Senate of this attack? That could jeopardize everything, as well. Perhaps, because it was going against everything he believed he should be doing, was why it was the right decision to make. Every decision his master made, he would have done exactly the opposite, and so maybe this was one of those times once again. Well, he made a decision and he was going to stick with it, no matter what the consequences. He could only hope that he was going to live to regret the decision later.

* * *

><p>The Corellian Defense Force had been called into action. Two squadrons of HLAF-750s had responded to the Three hostile Star Destroyers. These fighters were brand smacking new off the assembly line in the last two standard-cycles. Upgraded from twin to quad-lasers, and from two proton torpedo launchers to three, these babies were twice as fast and maneuverable as the predated 500s. Over the two standard-cycles, there had not seen much action; there has not been a crises that warranted their use.<p>

When Core and Ravage squadrons enter the scene, they were confronted with three Star Destroyers, but these ships were not like any class of Star Destroyers that they've ever seen. Even more puzzling was the fact that they were not releasing their squadrons of Tie fighters.

"Listen everyone," Wes radioed in. "Our primary objective is to keep those ships focused on us so the Senator and the Jedi can make the jump to Coruscant."

"Roger, Core Leader" Dru acknowledge the order. As leader of the Ravage squadron, he and Wes, flew together often. Their squadrons complimented each other like no other squadrons in the Corellian Navy. Outside the cockpits, they were best friends. There was no one he trusted more with his life. They had saved each other from being vaped countless number of times. "Ravage squadron, it'll be our responsibility to act as a shield barrier for the Senator's yacht. Core squadron will try to draw their fire. Until the yacht hits orbit, how 'bout we remind these ISD's the mistake they made in attacking Corellia!"

Everyone in Ravage squadron radioed in with a, "Roger". Everyone knew their jobs, and Dru had every reason to believe that his squadron will perform like they've always done: with perfect precision. Not since the Rouge Squadron under Captain Wedge Antilles has there been a better squadron; at least, that's what any of the pilots of Ravage Squadron would claim. Whenever the New Republic was short on fighters, Core and Ravage squadrons were usually the ones that were lent over to them. Rumors were starting to swirl among Dru's pilots that they were about to be sent to the New Republic, in the very near future, to aid in the coming civil war. As much as he loved being a fighter pilot, he had no desire to fight in a civil war that would utterly decimate the galaxy.

All the fighters peeled to the right as they gathered into battle formation. The Star Destroyers made no move to defend themselves, almost as if they were unaware of their presence. Neither had they tried to launch any fighters to counter them.

"So, where're the flaming clutches? You woulda' thought they'd launch 'em by now!" A young voice said over the comm, exposing his rookie enthusiasm.

Dru recognized the voice to belong to Ravage Seven, a young man who was yet to complete his first standard-cycle on the squad. There was nothing worse than a rookie pilot trying too hard to swear. They ended up swearing every other word, and cluttering the comm with useless chatter "Cool your jets, Gunner! We've no idea what we're in for yet, so don't rill out."

"The lack of fighters doesn't worry me as much as the missing deflector shield generator domes on those ships," Core Four, who also went by the codename Dunker, commented.

Dru saw that Dunker was right; these were not your usual Imperial Star Destroyers. They carried the same triangular shape, but he could not identify any of the standard technology displayed on the ship's hull. He wasn't sure that he could even identify where the bridges were on each of the ships.

"These must be prototypes of a new class of ISD's," As if he was a Jedi, Wes said exactly what he was thinking. "I don't care what they look like, I can guarantee you that they have deflector shields. We'll just have to poke around a little."

"Alright; Ravage Two, Ravage Four, Ravage Six, prepare your torpedoes. We're gonna be the first wave of 'pokers'. Everyone else... keep a safe distance, and see if your scanners can locate any weaknesses."

"Roger that, Ravage Leader, " Wes confirmed. "Watch your backs."

"Okay boys, hold on to your choobies. Let's fly across the right flank, and see how well the stern's protected."

"Woohoo!" Gunner wailed, as he piloted his fighter in position as Dru's right wingman. Skids, aka Ravage Two, took the left and Skipper, Ravage Four, took the rear of the diamond formation.

They zoomed in swiftly and precisely, as Dru pulled the trigger, and began the barrage of laser shots onto the hull of the ship. The other pilots followed suit. As was expected, the invisible reflector shied absorbed their laser blasts. One of the laser turrets on the side of the ship fired a single shot, and before he had the chance to shout out a warning, Skipper's fighter erupted in a ball of flames.

The Star Destroyer was not bombarding them as hard as they were, so he and his two remaining pilots pressed on. They passed another turret which seemed to ignore them until it attacked like a predator leaping from their hiding place. Before he knew it, Skid's signal was extinguished from his monitor.

"Holy mother of the Republic!" Dru ended their fly-by prematurely and booked it away from the Star Destroyer. Never in his life, had he seen a targeting system so pin-point accurate. He didn't care if they were being fired by a sentient being, a droid, or a highly sophisticated computer; nothing, or no one, could be this perfect. "The accuracy of those turrets is astronomical! They're not rapid fire capable, but they're deadly!"

"We're gonna have to come up with a new strategy and fast," Wes replied. "Our scanners can't pick up anything on those ships. To our sensors, it's as if they're made of materials that don't exist."

* * *

><p>The pilot was nearly complete with all the necessary preparations for takeoff. Jada had entered the roomy cockpit, wanting to be there in case her talents in the Force were needed in the escape. Gideon just happened to follow her; there was no particular reason why he had to be in the cockpit unless he was one of those pilots who hated being a passenger. Some pilots just made terrible passengers, and would usually refuse to leave the cockpit, even if they were not helping in flying the ship. They were just more comfortable sitting somewhere close to the ship's controls.<p>

"We've been given the 'all-clear' signal," the pilot informed her as she sat in one of the two passenger seats in the cockpit.

"Then take us up," she ordered. "I hope you've got some fighter-pilot-blood in your veins. This escape will not be easy."

"We have our best squadrons up there, clearing us a path. The enemy's probably already on the run, by now."

She bit her tongue, not wanting to dash any hopes that the pilot might have, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was going to be in for a rude awakening once they've reached the planet's upper atmosphere. This was going to be anything but easy.

* * *

><p>Wes decided to continue to pick on the closest Star Destroyer, but this time in full force. The result was just as disastrous. He had lost three of his best pilots and Ravage Squadron lost another two. They attacked with full force, and with everything they had. They pummeled it with blasters and proton torpedo's, but if their readings were accurate, then the ship's deflector shields remained completely unscathed. Where in Vader's name did the Imperials get ships like these?<p>

They could not keep this up very long; already the casualties were piling up to an unacceptable level. These Star Destroyers were making them look like rookies, and that was more infuriating than anything. Even more frustrating was that they were doing it without a fleet of Tie fighters. The picture was becoming clear on why they didn't launch any fighters... they didn't need them.

There was soft alarm that sounded in Wes' cockpit, and looking down at the monographic radar screen, he saw a ship coming quickly from the surface of the planet. "Core Leader here to Core and Ravage squadrons, the royal yacht is approaching. Our original plan still stands. Core squadron, we're gonna draw the fire while Ravage Squadon..."

"The ISD's are moving!" Dru bellowed over the comn.

As he warned, the three ships were maneuvering into position; they probably detected the Senator's ship approaching. This was not necessarily an attack on Corellia, the Empire was after the Senator and Jedi, themselves. Perhaps these ships will pull out after the Senator's ship has left the system; it may be wishful thinking, he knew, but it was worth hoping for. "It appears that there's setting up some sort of trap. Core Squadron, we're gonna try to spring the trap prematurely while Ravage squadron escorts them so they can make the jump into hyperspace."

All the pilots of Core Squadron followed him as they charged at the enemy ships. They were going to harass them like annoying and pesky insects; it was a pitiful attempt to distract them, but it was all they got. Wes was determined that failure was not an option, so if anyone could take a pathetic plan like this and make it work, he would do it.

One of the Star Destroyers made another sudden course change and made a dash towards the royal yacht. "Ravage Leader, Ravage Leader... Dru, we have a rouge ISD making a charge for the target!"

"Mother of the Republic!" He heard Dru's voice said over the the comm. "That ship's gonna plow right through us!"

All three Star Destroyers were paying no attention at all to them, and he could not blame them. They've yet to find a way to get past their seemingly impenetrable reflector shields. If their shields were that strong, then why bother shooting down the fighters when they can just run them over. "Core Squadron, focus on the advancing ISD!"

Every fighter in Core squadron made their way to the attacking Star Destroyer, unleashing all the fire power they had at their disposal. None of it was doing any good against those shields. Neither did it waist any further shots at them. There was some sort of intelligence behind the controls of those laser turrets.

Making another attempt to find the bridge somewhere on the ship's back, he noticed the flight pattern of one of his pilots. He was in a collision course with the Star Destroyer "Watch it, Smiles. You're in its path!"

His warning came too late. The pilot could not get out of the way fast enough. The Star Destroyer's nose rammed into the fighter, causing it to explode into burning space debris. As painful as witnessing the death of one of his pilots was, it was even worse when he realized that the reflector shields on the Star Destroyer were still at full strength, even after the collision.

* * *

><p>"Still convinced that this is going to be easy?" Jada asked the pilot.<p>

She had come to learn that the pilot's name was Captain Vargon. She could sense that he was an honorable man; he just had no idea what those ships were capable of. As far as any Corellian knew, this was an attack by the 'Empire'. There was no point trying to convince them otherwise; Corellia was one of the growing number of systems who favored war against them. They even refused to acknowledge the reconstruction into the Galactic Freedom Alliance.

"I stand corrected," Captain Vargon said.

"How long 'til we can make the jump?" she asked, not liking how fast and how hard that Star Destroyer was coming at them.

"A minute, but at the rate that ship is approaching, a minute might be too long!"

The other two Star Destroyers stated to move in opposite directions. It almost appeared as if they were leaving the battle to attend to another matter. "They're up to something. I sense a trap."

"You're right," Gideon said solemnly. "I've seen this type of maneuver before. I've heard some smugglers call it the Squeeze Play. The approaching ship is trying to push us into making a foolish mistake out of haste, while the others move to the left and right, trying to block any clear path to prevent us from jumping into hyperspace."

A high pitch alarm sounded, interrupting her mental strategizing. "Our problem just got worse. Look over there."

Coming out of hyper space were three more Star Destroyers. Whether they did it purposely, or inadvertently, they cut off the path of one of the entrapping enemy battle cruiser, causing it to stop where it was. These three new Star Destroyers were the classic Pellaeon II-class ships that the galaxy was more than familiar with.

Any chance they might have had, of getting out of this alive, was now gone. It was tough enough to have to outrun three Star Destroyers, but six was utterly and hopelessly impossible. "The three incoming star destroyers are preparing to fire. If you've any ideas, now would be a great time to let me know," Captain Vargon said.

"Take evasive ac-"

Jada did't have to finish her sentence. They received the surprise of their lives when the three Pellaeon II-class Star Destroyers took positions and attacked the enemy ships.

"I have no idea what to make of this," the captain admitted. The captain was flabbergasted by this development. He could not comprehend why one set of 'Imperial' Star Destroyers would attack another. He probably began to wonder if they were on the brink of civil war as well, but Jada knew better. If those Pellaeon-class Star Destroyers did belong to the Freedom Alliance, then they may have found an unlikely alley.

The holo-pad, on the console between the captain and co-pilot, chimed."We're receiving a communication from one of those three Star Destroyers," Captain Vargon informed her.

"Let's respond to our could-be-saviors." Jacina replied.

A tiny holograph image appeared on the holo-pad of a humane male in a white, formal, imperial uniform with an admiral badge on his chest. "This is Admiral Barkley of the Imperial Star Destroyer, Constantine. Please pardon our intrusion, but we've noticed that you were in trouble, and figured you could use a hand."

"Are you telling us those two spruced up _IMPERIAL_ Star Destroyers don't belong to you?" Captain Vargon responded rather harshly and accusingly.

The Admiral ignored his sarcasm, much to Jada's relief. "No, and my government is highly interested in finding out who's responsible for building those monstrosities. While we may have stupefied this unknown menace, it will not be long before they come out of it. May I suggest that you come aboard my ship, and we can escort you to wherever you need to go?"

Although Wedge and the crew may not be thrilled with the idea, she sensed that this was the will of the Force. They were not here simply by chance, but she could instantly tell that the Force was at work. She could even feel the Force from within the ships, and that had her curious, but confident. "It will be greatly appreciative," she replied, much to the dismay of Captain Vargon. "We are in desperate need to get to Coruscant. I realize the predicament that may put you in, but there is a new evil that has to be dealt with."

She realized what she was asking him. It was hardly a request made to someone who did not owe you... _BIG_. Asking an imperial officer, especially the supreme military commander, to go to Coruscant, where half of the senate is convinced that they were trying to destroy the New Republic, was a lot to ask. It would take a lot of good-will on his part to agree to such a request.

The admiral had to think about the request, but it wasn't nearly as long as a request like this usually should warrant. "Very well, please stand by."

* * *

><p>This new development was unexpected, and in Kartel's mind, was the worst case scenario that even he failed to anticipate. Never in his wildest imagination did he think that the Galactic Freedom Alliance would be so blasé and willing to help the New Republic. He thought, and he was sure his master did as well, that the Alliance would sit back and let the New Republic self-destruct.<p>

Now he was faced with a dilemma. He could easily wipe out the three Star Destroyers , but the purpose of this mission was not to kill the Jedi and the smuggler, but to throw the New Republic off track from discovering the truth about The Solo's assassination. If they retreated now, however, that would make his master look weak, and possibly embolden both governments to try to make peace.

That was a risk he could not take. He was ready to give the order to destroy the Star Destroyers when Sithious abruptly awoken from his meditation. "I know what you're thinking, and you will _NOT_ use the super weapons... not yet. If you unveil the full potential of this ship now, you will only bring the wrath of both governments down upon us."

Relieved that his master had returned, he was more than willing to hand command back to him. "What are your orders, my master?"

From the look on Sithious's face, he could see that his mind was not on this battle. He had no idea what was so pressing that required his attention at this very moment, but it was making him very fidgety. "Her fighting technique... it's so familiar."

"Master, the smuggler and the Jedi are about to board the Star Destroyer. We're about to lose them!" He pressed him hard for a command; harder than he had ever dared to, before.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, his indecisive instantly vanished. "Take us out of here. I think I've found a new way to exact my revenge."

"Master?" Yet again, he found himself lost at trying to figure out his master's plan and intentions. The man was mysterious to his very core.

"This is more than just a conquest of the galaxy, my mindless apprentice. This is about vengeance. I don't need this civil war to bring both governments to its knees; I could single handedly bring the Jedi Order to the brink of extinction. I have no need of apprentices or these ships. All of this is being done out of vengeance towards Skywalker. I don't merely want to kill him... I utterly want to crush his spirit. You don't have to understand anything else other than that."

Kartel felt like a scolded dog. No matter how much he wanted to please his master, he just could not understand the way he thought, and therefore could not help but look like an incompetent apprentice. If this was any other man, he would have killed him without a second thought, but he had a pretty decent understanding of his abilities, and he had to submit himself to no ends to stay alive. He cursed the day that they met and the day he agreed to follow him. Those were the days that his life was forfeited. The only hope he now had to survive is if was absent on the day the Jedi caught up to him and killed him. The hope for that day had just grown stronger. "I will order the retreat."

Satisfied that he had learned his lesson, Sithious handed him, yet, another order. "I want you to contact Rotta the Hutt. Tell him that I request the services of Tojar, the Jedi Hunter."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"I don't like this one bit!" Wedge scowled, prancing around in front of the ramp; waiting for the ship to dock and the ramp to lower. His prejudice towards the 'Empire' was at full swing. When he heard what Jada had done, he nearly went ballistic. At first, he was convinced this was all a set up by the Freedom Alliance to capture them. Even her assurance about the feeling of the Force on board the Constantine did not alleviate his distrust.

"Under the circumstances we were facing, it was the only choice we had," Jada replied. If he wasn't going to buy into her Jedi instincts, then he was going to have to accept the logical wisdom behind this move. It would have been six Star Destroyers against them and two squadrons of Corellian fighters. If this was a trap, then it would be much easier to escape than take on those odds.

"I still don't like it. You can't trust the Empire! They're worst than smugglers—no offence," he apologized promptly after he realized that Gideon was standing next to him. From the look on his face, he definitely took note of the comment. With a small nod, Jada knew that that comment was forgiven but not forgotten.

"If we were in any immediate danger, I would sense it." She tried the Jedi reasoning one last time, and there was one last card she could play: the guilt trip. "You've trusted Master Skywalker for many years; trust me now."

"This is gonna be interesting," Gideon muttered to himself.

The ship shook gently as they heard the hatch of the star destroyer close. They were now safely docked on-board the Constantine. "I'll go first, if it'd make you feel better?" she offered. It was a rhetorical suggestion; she was going down that ramp first despite his answer.

"Please, be my guess; you're the one with the lightsaber."

Looking over at Captain Vargon, she already knew that trying to ease his doubts would be impossible. He and the crew refused to leave the ship, mostly because they wanted to be ready to make a quick getaway if everything went south. He had vehemently objected to the Corellian senator leaving the ship in these circumstances, but she was barely able to persuade him that Wedge would be under her protection.

She gave him a gentle nod, signally him to press the red button, and lower the ramp. With a final sigh of objection, he did as instructed. As the ramp lowered, Jada noticed that most of the hanger was empty. Perhaps they did not want to overwhelm them with a formal greeting. They probably knew how Corellia felt about the Freedom Alliance and were going out of their way to put their unease to rest. She felt no hostile intentions from anywhere in the ship.

Gideon and Wedge followed her down the ramp. As they reached the bottom, the door leading out of the hanger slide upward. Entering the hanger bay was Admiral Barkley in his white military uniform, but he was not alone. Two other men were with him, and the moment she saw them, everything she had felt made sense. She was overwhelmingly cheerful to see their faces once again after this strenuous mission. "Jacen! Anakin!"

"Welcome on-board the Constantine!" Jacen smiled. He and his brother stepped out from behind the admiral to greet her.

Letting her nerves relax for the first time in weeks, she ran to greet both of them with a friendly embrace. It had been a long time since she'd seen them last. Jacen still had his smooth, oily-black hair that came down to his shoulders. He had a single streak of graying hair that made him all the more distinguishing. He had no facial hair to speak off; he found having facial hair rather irritating, and distracting. Other than his hair, he was almost the splitting image of his father. He had also acquired his wild streak. He had been offered to be made a member of the Jedi Council, but refused because he enjoyed being on his own and be whisked away into another adventure. Being tied down onto Coruscant was something he could not see himself doing for quite some time.

Anakin was slightly taller than his older brother, but with hair that matched the color of his father's. His neatly combed brown hair and full-grown beard and mustache made his appear like the splitting image of a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in his prime during the Clone Wars. He was more 'strictly-by-the-code' type of Jedi. While Jacen had a slight rebellious nature when it came to the wishes of the Jedi council, Anakin was the ideal Jedi, who had many of the same characteristics as his uncle, Master Skywalker.

Another surprised awaited Jada. She heard the familiar song-like chirp approaching, and following the sound of the ecstatic warble was the familiar blue and white domed droid. "Artoo!" Jada said, excitedly as she knelt down gently tapped on his dome-top.

The droid sang a long, inquisitive yet somewhat indignant comment. From the corner of her eye, she could see Gideon using his wrist translator to try to find out what the droid was saying. She had no need of a translator device to understand him. "I'm sorry, Artoo; I couldn't bring you on the mission. It was too dangerous, and besides, you've never been too fond of Tatooine anyway. The sand always gets into your transistors and joints."

The droid conceded the fact as Anakin stepped forward. "He's been helping Jacen and me, quite thoroughly."

"What are you two doing here?"

"I can answer that," the admiral replied, having given them the time to enjoy their small reunion. "The Freedom Alliance has recently discovered that plans for several of our Star Destroy models missing. We've come to the conclusion that they were stolen about ten galactic cycles ago, so the trail has gone rather cold. I've made a secret transmission to the Jedi council, pleading for help on this matter."

"I've heard a little about that from Master Skywalker," Jada commented. "Any luck?"

"We went to the Ubiqtorate base on Yaga Minor and hooked Artoo up to the computers to see if he can find anything," Jacen continued the story. "Unfortunately, whoever the traitor was did a very good job in covering his tracks. Admiral Barkley was in the process of taking us to Bastion to try some of the historical archives there, but then Anakin felt a disturbance in the Force and asked the Admiral if he could take us here to Corellia. It appears that we arrived just in time."

"Yeah, your timing was perfect," Jada agreed. "It appears that our missions have crossed paths."

"Anyway," Admiral Barkley chimed in. "I've ordered us to set course to Coruscant upon your request. We've made the jump to hyperspace, and I'm glad to report that those ships are not in pursuit. For now, at least, we're in the clear."

Indeed this was good news. For whatever reason, this unknown menace had given up chasing them. Though this did give her a reason to relax, there was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind wondering as to why they had cut off the chase without even any further attempt. She had not taken this foe to be one to give up so easily.

Admiral Barkley turned to address wedge formerly. "I greet you, Senator Antilles to the Constantine. I have assigned each of you a private quarters, and I think you will find your suite most comfortable."

"Uh, I supposed I do owe you my gratitude for saving our lives," Wedge replied uneasily. Being onboard an Imperial Star Destroy was quite awkward for the former fighter pilot. It was going to take him some time to adjust to the situation.

"Anakin, Jacen, this is Gideon Mars. I rescued him on Tatooine, and have placed him under the protection of the Jedi."

"_WE_ saved each other, remember lady Jedi?" Gideon corrected. "Let's not forget the few times I've had to save your pretty little face too!"

Jada ignored him as she addressed the admiral. "Admiral, if it's alright with you, I need to send a transmission to Master Skywalker. Is it at all possible that we use your secret channel to communication with the Jedi Tower?"

"That's easily enough done," he replied. "Come with me to the bridge, and everything is already set up and ready to go."

* * *

><p>"Well, it appears that your two missions are not so dissimilar, after all," Master Skywalker commented. It was always hard to read faces of holographic images of people. Technology had improved to the point where the ghostly white images were replaced with full color, but the downside to this new technology was the clarity.<p>

Jada had already updated him on recent events as did Jacen and Anakin. It was amazing how their stories brought them all together. Anakin and Jacen's mission hit a dead end, and Jada's opened up a new possibility for everyone. She was fairly confident that Master Skywalker would see that connection as well.

"Admiral, it appears that our two situations are closely intertwined. If we can work together, then, perhaps, we may be able to kill two mynocks with one stone."

"Working with Jedi is a very dangerous proposition for both of us. My government is just as leery about the New Republic as many of the systems in your government. I'm also positive that it's just as dangerous for the Jedi to be seen collaborating with the former Empire." Admiral Barkly stated. After a slight pause, he finally responded to the request. "It's a risk I'm willing to take if you are, Master Skywalker."

"You're correct, Admiral. We'll have to keep this under wraps for as long as possible," Master Skywalker replied. "With that in mind, I suggest that we take a new approach on trying to find your traitor. Perhaps we'll have better luck if we identify who the threat is and then backtrack from there."

"Master, don't we know who the enemy is? I thought it was clear that it was the Sith who's ultimately pulling the strings here," Anakin asked. "It sure sounds like it was a Sith apprentice that attacked Jada?"

"It's more than likely that we are talking about the Sith, but there's one possibility I think we should eliminate from the equation before reaching that conclusion. The two Bull Rancors, and the Dathomir Zabrak? There's a slight possibility that our threat is originating from the planet of Dathomir."

"The Nightsisters?" Jacen followed Master Skywalker's reasoning to their logical conclusion, though it did not make sense to any of the Jedi there. "I thought they were long extinct."

"Yes, according to the archives, during the Clone Wars, the Separatists wiped out the clan of witches after they created an evil Sith Lord known as Savage Oppress, who was also a Dathomir Zabrak. The Nightsisters used Savage to try to assassinate the Separatist leader, Darth Tyranus, who was the Emperor's apprentice before..." Luke sighed, bringing back a sour memory that he had tried to forget for most of his life. "...My father. Since the Clone Wars, we've not seen another Zabrak Sith Lord until today. I'm willing to bet that the Nightsisters are back; and if they're not the ones behind this new threat, then they know who is. I think that's where we need to start."

The admiral shook his head, approving of the Jedi Master's logic. "I agree. Should I cease our approach to Coruscant?"

"I think that'd be a good idea," Master Skywalker admitted. "Right now, I think it would be just a bad idea for you all to show up here in a Freedom Alliance Star Destroyer."

If they were going to change course to Dathomir, odds were that they were going to run into those three ships again. That was putting Gideon Mars into unnecessary danger, after Jada had put him under the protection of the Jedi Order. "Master, what about Gideon Mars? This mission would put him in grave danger."

She was glad that he was not on the bridge at that moment. He would be mouthing off about how he could take care of himself and that he didn't need a babysitter. His Corellian nature would begin to dominate this briefing, embarrassing her to no end. She was now glad that she insisted that he be taken to his quarters and for him to allow them to have their Jedi Council meeting.

"Yes, if he's a target for assassination, keeping him onboard The Star Destroyer would just endanger the mission. Send me your coordinate, and I'll have Master Kyp Durron come and pick him up. He'll bring him back to Coruscant where he'll be well protected."

* * *

><p>They had a long layover as they waited for the arrival of Master Durron. Anakin didn't mind it in the least; anytime, you get a chance to sit back and relax, was to be enjoyed. Time off was a rarity for a Jedi, even during times of peace. Their job was never done, and if there was not a threat to the peace, then many systems saw them as mediators to help solve domestic disputes either between two worlds, or even between two private parties. Anakin didn't mind mediating trade disputes as much as his older brother did. Jacen hated it with a passion. He hated negotiations unless they were done with a lightsaber. Anakin was almost completely the opposite.<p>

He decided to go for a walk through the massive ship. He and his fellow visitors have been given full access to any part of the Constantine, which was a very strange gesture. Yes, there was a treaty between the Freedom Alliance and the New Republic, but that didn't mean they usually trusted each other. The two governments have been more content ignoring each other and wanting to be left alone. Admiral Baron Barkley was an honorable man who envisioned something much better for both governments. He was an advocate for seeing them united. He envisioned both governments trusting the other, and opening trade relations; exchange technology and information; and during times of tribulation, uniting together to ward of any threats to the galaxy. Anakin admired him and his goals. He hoped that the admiral was successful in his endeavors.

As he walked down the corridor, his mind was reeling the puzzle that he and his brother were faced with. How come they were unable to discover the identity of the traitor to the Freedom Alliance? Artoo was not able to find any suspicious communications while searching the logs from ten galactic-cycles ago. He would have thought that a communication to a strange, unusual location would stand out. Instead, all communications were either between Freedom Alliance systems or to Coruscant, which was not all that unusual. Ten standard-cycles (Coruscant time) ago, the two governments had tried to hash out a trade agreement, which failed miserably. Seeing the logs of communications made to Coruscant at this time frame was to be expected. They even looked at the transcripts of a few of those conversations, and all of them were exactly what they were expecting to find. So, perhaps if they knew who the enemy was, it would be easier to find any unusual communications that were made from Bastion.

As he walked, he was passing a turbo-lift when the door slid open, and he nearly collided with a golden-haired woman. He nearly gasped when he saw her face; it was as if he was looking at a ghost. This woman was the splitting image of his wife; Tahiri. It was like she had come back from grave. His knees trembled; he had to will them to stay firm. Every fiber of his being was shaken to the core. If this was a practical joke from the Force, he was not amused in the least.

It had taken him a long time to get over her death. She was murdered, at the very start of the war with the Jedi Hunters, by the clan leader, Tojar of Mandalore. That was a very dark day; a day that he had long wanted to forget, but was now forcing to relive by this woman, which could be her clone, if at all possible.

"I'm so sorry," She apologized, as her faced turned red. "I'm always running into people. I can't help that I'm so energetic. Say, you're one of the Jedi I've been hearing about! I can tell by your clothes. You'll have to excuse me; I just came on board when the ship was docked at Yaga Minor, so I've got no clue as to how long you've been on board."

"Uh," He was flummoxed by her fast talk. She appeared to be someone who liked to talk and tried to fit in three or four different topics of conversation in one breath. She probably had a short attention span, quickly getting bored over things that didn't concern her much. "Yes, I'm a Jedi. I'm Master Anakin Solo."

"Good to meet you!" She had a smile that was almost contagious. "My name is Titinya Barkley, but my friends just call me Ti. Actually, I prefer it if everyone would just call me that. "

It was her last name that caught his attention."Barkley? Are you related to the Admiral, by any chance?"

"I guess there's no use trying to fool a Jedi," Ti laughed. "Yes, he's my uncle. He's raised me since my parents were killed when I was young girl."

She was also free with her information. She would not make a very good information broker, or a smuggler for that fact. She'd be bankrupt two days after starting her career. There was nothing wrong with that; he just found it... interesting.

"I'm sorry." He studied her appearance. She was not dressed in the common gray or white Imperial officer uniform. Instead, she was wearing a civilian sky-blue dress. Her hair was not braded up like the protocol dictated for a female officer. Instead, her blond hair was loose, curly, and went down to the nap of her neck. "You're not an officer, on this ship?"

Ti smiled proudly. "Nope, I'm just a civilian. Actually, I help my uncle out with some splice work. I'm very decent splicer, you know?"

"I mean no disrespect, but I'm surprised to see that civilians are allowed on a military vessel. I was under the impression that the Freedom Alliance was very strict on that matter."

She was so cheerful, that she could make a rancor smile. Tahiri had an upbeat personality, as well, but Ti had her beat in that category. He wondered if there was anything that could ruin her bubbly attitude. "It used to be..., during the war, but after the signing of the peace treaty, things slowly started to change. They now allow scientists, family members, and even aliens. The Freedom Alliance has really gone out-of-the-way to rid the government of anti-alien bias."

Anakin shook his head. The Freedom Alliance had done a lot to try to shed its imperial roots. The transformation of the Empire was a very slow process, started by the late Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. Admiral Barkley had served under Pellaeon at the start of his military career. "It is a shame that the Republic can't see the changes your government have made."

Their conversation was interrupted when, farther down the corridor, a human and an alien, of some unknown race began shouting threats at each other. It did not take long for it to escalate into violence. The furry alien, which had many similarities of a Wookie, lashed out and grabbed the human, by the throat.

The joyous and jubilant Ti Barkley vanished as if she had become possessed by a spirit or something, and in her place was a woman who was much more authoritative and confident. "That's enough!" She ran up to them, to break them up. Anakin followed her, curious to see how she was going to handle the situation.

The alien's eyes narrowed towards Ti, who was trying to separate them. He let go of the human's throat and cursed at her in his native gibberish. Neither Anakin nor Ti understood what he was saying, but there was no mistaken that he demanded a response to their intrusion. "I am the niece of Admiral Barkley. This is an Imperial military cruiser, and you will show restraint and act accordingly, or I will report both of you to my uncle. Do I make myself clear?"

The alien did not appreciate being spoken firmly too by a fragile looking girl, with no true military authority. She was not in the military, so the alien took instant offense to her giving him orders. With reflexes that even surprised him, the alien grabbed Anakin's throat, instead of Ti's. He felt his claws clamping down on his throat, and cutting off his air supply. He was ready to flip out his light saber, but before he could, Ti raised up her right palm. The alien lost his grip on Anakin's throat as an invisible force threw him backward. Anakin landed on his feet as he let out a wheeze, as the air rushed back into his lungs.

He looked up, still grabbing at his throat, feeling the after effects of the strong grip around his throat. He watched as Ti looked firmly down at the alien, who sat on the ground, unsure as to what had just happened, and how he ended up sitting on the polished floor. "I'm not as helpless as I may appear. I'll be glad to forget this incident if you two just walk away and bring an end to this dispute."

The officer was quick to agree, not wanting to get the same treatment. The Alien picked himself up and wiped his fur before reluctantly walking in the opposite direction. Everyone that gathered to watch the fight parted ways, mostly out of fear of Ti.

She turned towards Anakin and placed a soft hand onto his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He was at a loss for words; he couldn't be sure what had just happened. Calling upon the Force, he replayed the events in his head like a security recording. The alien had indeed been thrown, but he wasn't the one who used the Force to do it. "I'm fine," he replied, his voice still a little hoarse from the alien's grip across his throat. He let out a cough, to clear his throat. "The Force is strong with you."

Ti's bubbly personality returned just as quickly as it vanished. It was almost as if she had two separate personalities. He couldn't sense any deformities mental instability. She had full control of her personalities, and her ability to use the Force may explain that. If he had to guess, her cheerfulness may be her limited technique to ward away negative feelings that could lead her to the dark side of the Force. "Yes. My abilities first revealed itself when I first came to live with my Uncle. He did his best to learn about the ways of the Jedi, so he could teach me how to control my powers instead of having them control me."

"You're uncle is very wise man," Anakin replied. "Why haven't you sought out the Jedi Council to be trained as a Jedi Knight?"

She gave him a look as to say that he was being naive. "I, highly doubt that the New Republic would look kindly on training a young 'Imperial' woman to become a Jedi."

She did have a point. The senate would not be happy, in the least, to have the Jedi Council accept a young woman from the Freedom Alliance. Trying to do so would just alienate the Jedi further from the Senate. There already were a growing number of systems in the New Republic who did not trust them. "I will admit, the senate may be furious about it; but they have no say in the dealings of the Jedi order. I can promise you, that the Jedi council will not see you as a woman from the former Imperial Empire. You will be judged, strictly, by the will of the Force and not by the will of the Senate."

If it was even possible, her mood became even more joyous. "That does sound exciting," she admitted. "I've had dreams since I was a little girl, of being Jedi knight. Unfortunately, the dreams as of late have not been so... pleasant."

Anakin had his fair share of dreams in his lifetime. More often than not, dreams were actually visions granted to a Jedi by the Force, serving either as a warning or confirmation. With her limited knowledge of the Force, she could not comprehend meanings behind dreams and visions."Tell me about your dreams."

Her mood darkened a little as she pulled the memories from a 'vault' deep behind her mind, having locked them away, hoping never to think about them again. "I saw a great evil coming from a peculiar green mist. From the mist, an invasion force, unlike anything I've ever seen, overtook both the New Republic and the Freedom Alliance. What was left, of the two governments, came to take a last stand above Coruscant. I could only watch as my uncle, and the Constantine, were destroyed. Soon afterwards, all of Coruscant was burning."

Anakin did not like what he was hearing. She was having a vision of the future; but was it a vision from the Force, or from the enemy? Either way, Anakin was getting the feeling that they could not afford to underestimate the enemy, which they were now facing. "What you saw was the future, but don't let it worry you. The first thing you'll learn in your training is that a vision is only the Force showing you one possibility. The harder you try to avoid it, the more likely it will become a reality. Just relax, have faith in the Force. The Force will not allow itself to be thrown into chaos; it has a will, and it will guide you in your actions."

He could see a sense of relief sweep over her, and at the same time, she took notice of a few of his word. "My training? Are you saying..."

"I will speak with my uncle, Master Skywalker, and I will ask the Jedi council for permission to take you to be my apprentice. You _WILL_ be trained to be a Jedi."

Ti squealed with delight. A lifelong dream, which she had feared would always be just out of her reach, could be coming to fruition. She was so overfull with joy, that without thinking, she hugged him and then kissed him on the right side of the face. Overcome with shock, Anakin's brain froze. Caught off guard by the awkward moment, he could not get his brain to come up with a proper response. Realizing the gracelessness and eembarrassed by her actions, she walked away, without looking back.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Walking down the ramp, Jedi Master Kyp Durron, even at his advanced age, still had the appearance of a rebel. His face hid his age fairly well; he always attributed it to his reckless behavior. His white hair streamed from his scalp to his shoulders. Anakin was certain that his brother, Jacen, emulated the Jedi Master way too much for his liking. Even as experience as he was, Jacen had adopted some of Master Duron's unruly tendencies. He supposed he could not blame his brother too much; he'd been told that he annoyingly emulated Uncle Skywalker. Perhaps many of his generation of Jedi's emulated their Masters or a Jedi Master that they had great respect for.

Anakin was joined by the rest of the Jedi onboard the Constantine, Gideon, and Senator Antilles. He was not surprised when Jacen was the one stepping forward first to greet the Jedi Master. "Greetings, Master Durron."

"Greetings, young Jedi," He smirked.

Anakin frowned at the label that the Jedi Master had addressed them as .Technically, Jada was the only Jedi Knight on board. He and his brother, may be younger than Master Durron, they were still well beyond knighthood. They both already had a padawan learner grow into a full-fledged Jedi Knight who both had their own apprentices. The label 'young' was borderline derogative, and was a slap in the face of all of their accomplishments. However, Jacen didn't seem to take the greeting in the same way. In his eyes, the 'great' Jedi Master Kyp Durron could do no wrong.

The Jedi Master turned to address the Senator. "Greetings, Senator. I take it that everyone is ready to depart?"

"My crew and I are more than ready," Wedge responded quickly. He could not wait to get off this ship, for fear of what being seen on an Imperial Star Destroy, would do to his image. Despite the more-than-gracious hospitality that's been shown to them, the former Rouge Leader just could not overcome his distrust of the Freedom Alliance.

"Excellent," He replied. His gaze was pulled towards Gideon. There was no hiding the smuggler in a room full of Jedi; he stuck out like a sore thumb. "So you must be the smuggler that I've come to escort back to Coruscant."

"Listen, I don't need protection; I don't care who's out there trying to get me. I rather help find this guy than hide like a coward."

Jada stepped in and answered before Master Durron could. She could already see that these two men would not get along very well, but a part of her was kind of amused with the idea that Gideon would soon be given the same attitude as he's been given her. With any luck, she would never again across this hardcore scoundrel. "The enemy we're up against, you're not equipped to take on. You thought that Sith apprentice was nasty, wait until we cross the master. You need the protection of the Jedi, and I've been assigned to a different mission. Master Kyp Durron is now assigned to you."

"Don't remind me," Kyp scowled towards Jada. "You young Jedi get to run off to Dathomir while I'm stuck babysitting this guy. I'm quite envious of you three."

Gideon wanted to hurt the Jedi Master; Anakin could see it in the way he narrowed his eyes. Before anyone had a chance to respond, Artoo riddled off a few anxious moans and whistles. Jada was quickly there to comfort the anxious droid. "Yes, Artoo, you're coming too. I wouldn't think of leaving you behind again."

"Anyway, as you can see, I brought you young Jedi this fine shuttle to take you to Dathomir. It's been outfitted with the latest mini-deflector-shield generator available. It should protect you well enough for your needs. I'll be returning to Coruscunt with the smuggler and the senator in the senator's ship."

The shuttle that Master Durron brought was a new class of ships known for its advanced maneuverable capabilities, and its speed. The shuttle was shaped like the head of a Vulture, hence its nickname: Vulture Run. There was a thin window strip, as the ships 'eyes', which gave the pilots a wide perspective of their surroundings. It was a very small ship, with only the bare necessities; it was not meant for long treks around the galaxy. It was perfect for what they needed.

* * *

><p>The Royal Yacht was well on its way to Coruscant. With them on their way, the Constantine and her two sister ships pressed on towards Dathomir. After a long journey, they were getting near the system. Not daring to capture any unwanted attention, the three Star Destroyers found a large moon to hide behind. From there, the three Jedi would take the Vulture Run the rest of the way to the dark planet.<p>

Jada felt relieved to have Gideon out of her hair for once. She was able to relax, let her mental guard down, and enjoy not having to put up with his relentless bantering. She could enjoy a time of meditation and not have to worry about him barging into her quarters and interrupting her. Even now, as she, the Solo brothers, and Artoo were on their way to the shuttle, she was enjoying the calm, soothing atmosphere that came with being around fellow Jedi. She did not have to worry about him trying to dominate the conversation, or pop-up where she least expected.

Their small group walked up the ramp at the stern of the ship. Anakin stayed behind to raise it up and seal the hatch as the other two walked to the door at the opposite end of the passenger cabin. The door slid open as if it was activated by motion. If that was the case or not, there was no telling, because standing inside the cockpit cabin was the last person any of them expected to see. "It's about time we get things going! I take it that we're ready to head out?"

It took every ounce of inner-strength not to lose her temper. "Gideon! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on your way to Coruscant!"

"And do what; twiddle my thumbs?" he shrugged. "Besides, you three need a decent pilot to get you to Dathomir, and I'm your guy."

The three Jedi looked at each other dumbfoundingly. Their minds were still reeling over how he could be standing in front of them. "All three of us are probably better pilots than you, when you take to account our ability to use the Force."

"Now, hey, there's no need to get personal here," He said solemnly. Jada could not tell if he was playing around or not; for a no-Force user, he hid his emotions very well. "I'll pilot us down, and you three can prepare yourselves for whatever you need to prepare for. Now that we've got that settled, let's depart, shall we?"

Anakin smirked. He could not help but be reminded of his father; Gideon Mars acted very similar to him in many aspects. That's what it was to be a Corellian smuggler. Jacen, on the other hand, was not thrilled with the idea in the least. "Master Durron has to be fuming by now," he mumbled in surrender.

Realizing that she was outnumbered, she had no choice but to surrender as well. Whether she liked it or not, he had to come with them; she was not willing to put Admiral Barkley in danger if a sneak attack occurred in an attempt to kill him. He needed Jedi protection, and unfortunately, she was going to have to continue serving as his body guard. With a sigh of disgust, she joined him in the cockpit while Anakin and Jaces remained in the passenger cabin.

* * *

><p>Darth Krull and Darth Bison entered Sithious' chamber. They had not been summoned, and that was dangerous to their well-being. They heard of their masters orders to allow the Jedi and the smuggler to escape, and they knew that their time had now come. They were convinced that he was a weak master, having failed, yet again. If he had sent them, from the beginning, the lady Jedi would have been dead by now.<p>

They stood before their master, refusing to kneel before him. There was no trying to fool the Sith Master into a false sense of loyalty; there was no doubt that he already knew why they had come before him. Sithious turned his chair to face his two apprentices. "Why am I being confronted by my two apprentices without being summoned?"

"We want the lady Jedi! Send us to kill her!" Darth Bison replied. It was an ultimatum they knew would go unanswered. They might as well tell him why he was about to die.

"And why should I explain my actions to you, my dimwitted apprentices?"

"You've failed us! Three times you've allowed her to escape." Darth Krull Sneered. "Your actions are getting in the way of the Sith rising to power. You are weak and incompetent. You must be replaced!"

The Dark lord's eyes pierced their souls, as if he was reading their abilities. "You two are not ready, therefore, I will not oblige. If you continue on this course, my foolish friends, you will die." He emerged from his chair in defiance. There was no fear in his eyes, only unbridled confidence; it was enough to unnerve even the two apprentices. Surely he had to realize that he was outnumbered?

Katel was not Force-sensitive, but even he could sense the suffocating thickness of the tension that was in that room. Feeling out of place and in grave danger, he turned to exit out of the chambers. He was more than willing to leave those two fools to their own demise; he wanted no part of what was to happen. "No, stay!" Sithious's voice halted his attempt. He knew that he was going to be forced to watch this.

The dark lord's eyes never departed from his two apprentices as he walked down the three steps and towards them. "If you seek to take my place then you must strike me down."

"Then that's, exactly, what we'll do." The two of them pulled out their lightsabers and ignited their red blades.

They raised their weapons in position to strike, yet the master showed no signs of resistance; he was making himself an open and easy target. He closed his eyes for a brief second before they shot back open. His human eyes were replaced by eyes that filled both apprentices with fear. His eyes were completely blood-red in color. His yellow moon-slit pupils looked back and forth between the two of them. Those were eyes not belonging to any normal Sith lord, but to some kind of demon.

His body began to cringe, almost as if his body was building up for an explosion. Faint, green streaks of electricity started to encase his entire body. The intensity increased rapidly. It was as if his body could no longer contain the Force that was starting to seep through his skin.

When the build-up had reached its peak, the Force exploded like a solar storm. His horrific scream filled the air as he heaved his chest out and spread out his arms, as if he was giving up his spirit. Green bolts of electricity spewed out of his mouth like lava from a volcano. It spread out to form a dome around him.

The two apprentices and Kartel found themselves fighting against a wind from unknown source. All three were terrified; never in their lives had they seen such a display of power. Only now, were they realizing, that their master had not been exaggerating his powers. On the contrary, he was more powerful than he let on.

As Sithious screamed, a green mist exited out of his body from the mouth and nostrils. The mist did not evaporate, instead it gathered over him until it was all out. His lifeless body collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud. The lightning was now emanating from the mist and not the deceased body. Part of that mist began to take form of a skull, laughing at the apprentices' expense. The god-like echo behind the laugh was dark and menacing.

Kartel was paralyzed from fear when he noticed the dark eye sockets were looking at him. He may not be a Sith like his master, Darth Krull, or Darth Bison; but even he knew, this was beyond any of them them. This was an ancient evil beyond the Sith and the Jedi.

Two streaks of electricity branched out from the mist and grabbed Kartel. "No, wait!" He pleaded as he was being pulled towards it. Everything Kartel did to try to escape its grasp, proved to be futile.

Pain rippled through his entire body as the electricity, that held him, burned the flesh on his body. The mist descended upon him, surrounding his head. It forced its way into his body through the mouth and nostrils. He gagged, as he felt his life being choked out of him.

His life faded out of existence. Opening his eyes, the same demonic eyes were once again staring down the two disturbed Sith apprentices. The electricity faded, as the transference was completed.

"Only now, when it's too late, do you realize who I really am."

The apprentices were both clearly unnerved by what they had just witnessed, but they were not going to admit defeat just yet. "Impressive, Master Sithious, but if I'm not mistaken, you just transferred yourself into a body incapable of accessing the powers of the Force."

Sithious, now dwelling in Kartel's body, looked at them almost out of pity. "Your limited minds blind you to the truth. I am not only immortal, but I have the power to manipulate midi-chlorians at will. Therefore, no matter who I posses, Jedi or not, my powers remain!"

With his fleshly hand, he threw two balls of green electricity at both apprentices, who stumbled backwards in flesh-burning agony. They both managed to stay on their feet and hold on to their weapons, but they knew that the attack was only for demonstration purposes.

"Now do you see who I am? I've been in this galaxy for millenniums! There's been times that I've taken on physical forms like this, but it was I who whispered into the ears of all great Sith Lords of the past from the Emperor, himself, to Darth Bane and earlier. I am the one who twisted the midi-chlorians of a wretched slave girl on Tatooine and planted in her womb my greatest invention: Darth Vader. Everything that has happened in this galaxy in the past several millenniums happened at my design. I'm not a servant of the dark side of the force... I _AM_ the dark side!"

Sithious grinned as he continued his speech. He was not necessarily stalling for time as it was trying to decide the best method of disposing of them. "This Jedi, Skywalker, has proven to be bigger of a nuisance than I had anticipated. I've come to rid the galaxy of him, and wipe out the Jedi by my own hand. I will not allow you two to jeopardize that because of your self-deluded egos."

The two apprentices had nothing to lose. They knew the longer they waited to move, the least likely they were going to win. They charged at him with their blades raised over their shoulders. Sithious twisted his human wrist and their lightsabers deactivated. Before they knew it, their weapons disintegrated back into a handful of parts. Now, they were Sith Lords without any weapons.

Sithious pointed his fleshly palm at Darth Krull and a massive wave of fire swooshed over the unexpected apprentice, engulfing his entire body. Screaming in sheer agony, all attempts to put out the flames failed. The heat was so intense, Darth Bison had to step away from his partner in crime. Falling to his knees, no relief came as the fire ate him alive. Being a Gen'Dai, it was nearly impossible to kill him; his species could regenerate even if their head had been cut off. Unfortunately for him, there was going to be no regeneration for him this time. The flames were so intense that his body was being completely incinerated. His flesh could not recover from this kind of damage. In not time, his corpse fell to the ground as the fire continued to eat away at the remains.

Desperate to escape with his life, Darth Bison tried to use the Force to throw his former master across the room, but it was as if the Force had abandoned him. He was completely cut off from the Force. It swiftly dawned on him that Sithious was responsible for severing his access in the Force. When his body began to convulse, he realized he was doing more than just cutting of his Sith abilities; he was fooling around with his body at a cellular level.

His mouth instantly became dry, and his skin became desiccated and cracked. All the moisture in his body was evaporating in a rush. His strength was leaving him just as quickly as dehydration settled in. His muscles shrunk. And his hair turned white. He looked liked an old man, as he his bones became brittle and his body looked like nothing more than a skeleton wrapped in a thin layer of flesh. Darth Bison could no longer carry what little body weight he still had and he fell to the groan, moaning. Upon his defeat, death came quickly to him. Right there on the floor, the apprentice's body shriveled up until there was nothing left but a fragile skeletal frame.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The Vulture Run was on its way to Dathomir. Theoretically, this was to be a relatively diminutive and uneventful journey, but Gideon's unanticipated presence altered that in every way imaginable. From the moment they had departed the Constantine, she had hoped for a quiet trip, but she should've known better; Gideon never left anything unspoken. "Look at that! I can't say I've ever seen a planet so... red?"

Jada declined the opportunity to get pulled into another pointless discussion, hoping he would get the hint. She was still furious at him for sneaking into this mission when he should have been on his way to Coruscant. Now she was stuck having to make sure he didn't get himself in trouble. If he was going to be such a nuisance, he could—at least—be courteous enough not to infuriate her. He was like a child, and could not remain quiet around her.

Gideon stole a quick glance towards her, noticing how silent she was being. He wasn't stupid; he could sense the tension between them. He could tell that she wanted a quiet ride, but he just didn't care. "Say, you're not still seething that I ditched the ride to Coruscant, are you?"

"I'm not angry. Jedi don't get angry."

"No, of course not," Gideon said wryly. "You merely hold grudges. Don't you try and deny it, either. I know when someone doesn't take a shinning to me."

Was he trying to rouse an emotional response? If he knew who her mother was, he would think twice about pushing her buttons any further. She had her mother's irritability; fortunately, she had a little of her father's meekness in her so she was better at holding it at bay. Deciding not to dignify his accusation with her own retort, she went back to pretended as if she was meditating.

Again, he refused to recognize her silence. "Listen, I'm willing to lighten up a bit on my devious personality, but only if you're willing to cut me some slack. I'm not truly the conniving scoundrel you think I am?"

There was no shutting him up! He had gone from pointless chatter to seeking her approval, while all she desired was to contemplate on the assignment at hand. Did he not comprehend the danger that they were walking into? They were about to be outnumbered three-to-one, at least, and there was no telling if the Nightsisters would be in the mood to talk. Could he really not understand that she had no interest in engaging in pointless conversation right now?

She stood up from her seat. "I need to meditate and prepare for the mission." She dismissed herself from the cockpit, without saying another word. Inside the passenger cabin, both Anakin and Jacen were sitting in their seats, deep in meditation. Well, they were meditating until she entered the cabin. The door slid shut behind her as she took one of the seats.

"Getting on your nerves, is he?" Jacen smirked. He could sense the anxiety she was in even when she was still in the cockpit. "I think he likes you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know; he only annoys me because he likes me. Jacen, this is not the academy; I'm not a little girl, anymore."

"No, I mean, I think he _REALLY_ likes you."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The thought that someone like Gideon Mars could be attracted to her was a very disconcerting thought to her. It was almost repulsive. For him to even make such a suggestion aggravated her to no end. "Bite your tongue! I've never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life."

"And it would seem that you like him as well," Anakin commented, trying his best to hide a smile.

She was almost offended by those words. She had no interest in romance; she was married to her role as Jedi Knight. That's all she wanted; that's all that made her happy. Anakin knew that better than anyone. "I was wrong. _THAT_ is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I don't have time for love. Besides, the code forbids it in our circumstances; he's not, what you would call, 'pure-of-heart' or 'one-who-serves-wisdom'. He's a swindler... a scoundrel... a trouble maker, even."

Jacen laughed, not able to help but notice the irony of the situation. She was very much like her mother, in facial features and personality. For whatever her true reasons were, Jada had gone out of her way to avoid romantic entanglements. Neither he nor Anakin could ever get her to tell them why she was so opposed to marriage. Perhaps it had something to do with the way things were in the old Jedi order. She had always looked up to past Jedi Masters like Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda. Of any Jedi Knight alive today, she knew the most about the legendary Jedi Masters of old; she was like a breathing archive holocron.

Things have changed since the pre-Empire days. The Jedi order strictly lived by the code. With so many rules in the old code, it was no wonder why the Jedi were so afraid of the dark side of the Force. Today, the rules were somewhat more relaxed. They allowed fully trained Jedi Knights to marry upon the approval of the Jedi council. According to the new code, their mate had to be either another Jedi knight, or someone who was selfless in their desires, and lived a life of honor and wisdom. Jada was right about one thing; the Jedi council would not approve her pairing with Gideon. Yet, Jacen found it very amusing that her hard, protective shell had finally cracked.

Through the Force, he could here Anakin's warning; he suggested backing off on any further teasing on this matter. The two of them were thinking the same exact thing. As funny as the situation was, it was just as much of a dilemma. She was going to have a hard enough time trying to keep the relationship from developing into anything serious; there's no point adding onto her stress.

With the matter dropped, Jacen stood to his feet. Gideon was going to need someone to copilot this ship and point out where on the planet they needed to land. He might as well be the one to do it. After all, he had been told that he was just like his father; perhaps they would get along a little better.

* * *

><p>The presence of the dark side was even stronger on the planet's surface than it was nearing its atmosphere. Organisms, vegetations, everything on this planet radiated evil. The sky was red, giving everything that eerie glow of the color of blood. There was no planet in all the galaxies like this one. Jada could almost sense that Gideon was starting to regret his decision to come along on this mission.<p>

"Should we leave someone to guard the ship?" Anakin asked, wondering if it was a better idea to leave the smuggler behind in the ship while they sought out the Nightsisters.

"What would be the point?" Jacen responded. "If we left Gideon here, one of us would have to stay here with him. All three of us are needed on this mission."

Gideon was not happy about being talked about while he was present among them. "If you think I'm staying behind, you've got another thing coming. I've got my two blasters and my wits; I'm ready for anything these 'Nightsisters' can dish out."

The Jedi looked at each other with a raised eye brow. That was all the confirmation they needed; the smuggler, genuinely, did not comprehend the situation. At this point, telling him would only be a waste of valuable time. "I suppose it'd be rude to keep our hosts waiting. If the Nightsisters are really here, they probably already know that we've arrived."

The four of them started their trek, not knowing exactly where they were going. As the Jedi figured, it really didn't matter; the Nightsisters would come to them, if they weren't watching them already. All three of them could sense their presence in the giant weed-like trees. A meeting with the clan of witches was going to happen sooner rather than later. They were obviously waiting for them to walk far enough away from the shuttle so there was no way for them to escape.

All-in-all, Jada was not very impressed with their effectiveness. If these people that she was sensing were the witches, then they were a shell of their former glory. She imagined that if they tried, they could decimate the witch clan without much effort; however, that would defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place. They were there for answers, not to start a fight.

They were barely out of sight of the Vulture Run when a white mist moved in around them. It was a nice touch; it definitely brought an eerie feeling to the situation. She made no sudden moves for her light saber. She had no desire to alert the witches that their positions had been compromised. Jacen and Anakin were on the same page, but Gideon was starting to get spooked, despite his best attempts to hide it. She could feel the tension coursing through his body. From the corner of her eye, she noticed his right hand twitching at his blaster.

An explosion jolted in her brain like violent flash of light. Her nerves tingled with neural electricity , flowing to every limb of her body. Instincts went onto auto-pilot as her weapon found its way into her hand, and her violate blade activated seemingly on its own. It was almost like an out-of-body experience, and she watched herself position her blade directly in front of Gideon, in the precise location to intercept an electric-head arrow from find its mark in his chest.

Anakin and Jacen had their lightsabers in hand as fast as Gideon had his two blasters in his. Athletically shaped women, dressed in red and wearing red scares around their nose and mouths, rained down all around them from the trees. Jada had only sensed a handful of, at most, of witches; the number, which had leaped out of the trees, far surpassed that number. Somehow, they had deceived their Jedi senses, and masked their true numbers. Now, she was impressed.

They were coming at them with all sorts of hand held weapons. One witch came at Jada with a sword-like weapon. Instead of an electric blade like a Jedi's lightsaber, this blade appeared to be made of green mist. She almost underestimated what the witch's blade could do against hers, but to her surprise, their blades clashed as if the misty blade was solid. These witches were full of surprised.

Gideon fired his blasters at any target that came into his line of sight, but these ladies were too quick, and by the time his brain told his hands to pull the trigger, his target had already moved to a better attacking position. It was as if they knew what he was going to do before he did. He was not in danger of hitting anything, but Jada felt it necessary to warn him anyway. "No killing! We want them to listen to us!"

"You tell them, that!" he protested with a scowl.

She had her hands full defending herself from the witch with the misty sword and shielding Gideon from all electric head arrows. This was exactly why she had been opposed to him coming along on this mission. He brought no clear advantage to the situation and she had to split her attention two ways, which was very dangerous. It would have been better if he had just stayed on that shuttle to Coruscant and allow her to concentrate on what needed to be done.

"Enough!" a voice echoed all around them. Upon the command, all the Nightsisters complied by stepping away from the Jedi; none of them dared lowered their weapons yet.

The witches cleared a path for a much taller woman, wearing flowing red dress which acted as if it was alive. Her face was not covered, like the other Nightsisters. The flesh on her face was albino-white, except for her eye sockets, which was as black as death. Her eyes had a strange green glow to them. She was everything Jada expected a witch to look like.

Her voice had a not-so-human undertone, as if some kind of hideous beast was speaking at the same time as her. "I am Mother Tjek, head of the Nightsisters. You've traveled far out of your way to come here, Jedi."

"We're not here to fight you. We've no ill intentions towards you and your sisters," Jada spoke out on behalf of the Jedi.

The witch leader appeared to be annoyed as she rolled her eyes. "I know why you've come, young Jedi girl. You seek answers as to the identity of this new Sith Master." She looked out to all her girls who waited for her word to either stand down or rid the planet of their miserable existence. "Put away your weapon, ladies. There'll be no violence here, tonight."

The Nightsisters obeyed without hesitation. Immediately, their characteristics changed from being lethal assassins to humble servants. Jada was amazed how quick they were able to flip off their aggressive natures. It was almost as if Mother Tjek controlled them like mindless zombies with her magic. If these women were the living dead, there was no telling; their masked faces made it impossible to tell. One thing was for certain: despite their new-found hospitality, there was still a clear presence of evil all around them.

To return the kind gesture that the Nighsisters were showing, the Jedi deactivated their weapons and retreated them onto their belts. Gideon was not so quick in dismissing his blasters, but after a threatening glare for Jada, he reluctantly put them away. When all weapons were put away, Mother Tjek nodded in respect of the Jedi's response. "Let us go to the temple to talk; I shall give you what answers I am capable of giving."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The 'temple' in which Mother Zsa Tjek brought them to could hardly be defined as such. It was more like a giant boulder which had been gutted out and barely furnished. It was, by no means, intended for comfort. The Nightsisters were not into luxurious dwellings; rather, they believed that over indulging in physical comfort was an abomination. They were more than happy to sleep under the starry sky and live on food that they've hunted by their own hands. The Jedi have some similar beliefs, but the Nightsisters took it to an uncompromising new level.

As they entered, what little furnishing they had was just as primitive as the temple, itself. The long table was made of black stone, and there was nothing smooth about the table top. The chairs were just as bad, and looked extremely uncomfortable to sit in. They would soon find out, that it was even worse than it looked. However, out of respect of the hospitality being shown, none of the Jedi were willing to complain about it. Gideon, on the other hand would have been an entirely different story, if it wasn't for a threatening glare from Jada.

"Please...sit!" Mother Tjek said as she waved her hand to point towards the chair.

The Jedi and Gideon obliged, taking seats on both sides of the table, two per side. Jada sat closest to the end of head of table, as Gideon took the seat next to her. Jacen took the seat closest to the head on the opposite side of the table, with the younger Solo sibling, Anakin, sitting next to him. Mother Tjek took her position at the head of the table, in front of a giant, cracked, crystal ball. Her fellow Nightsister stood by the black, jagged, stone walls on both side of the table. They were standing guard in case the Jedi got out of line. They would never allow a private meeting with their sacred clan leader. Their trust of the Jedi was minimal at best.

"Mother Tjek, we're not here to start a fight, but we need to know if you're trying to provoke a civil war in the New Republic." Jacen took the lead in asking the questions. Jada was reluctant in letting him ask the questions. He could be quite over assertive and provocative, turning a simple question and answer time into a fully fledged interrogation. The last thing the Jedi needed was to start a war with the Nightsisters.

"I know why you've come, Jedi. A cloud of darkness shrouds over the galaxy, and you have reason to suspect our involvement. I can assure you, that we have little care over what's happens in the galaxy. We are content in keeping to ourselves."

"Just recently, I came across one of your men, a Dathomirian Zabrak, to be precise. He also had two Bull Rancors, a species native to this planet and long thought to be extinct." Jada added.

"Ah, yes, I saw that what you speak of," Mother Tjek grinned. Waving a hand over her crystal ball, a garbled image appeared inside, showing Jada and Gideon confronting the two Bull Rancors on Ando. Seeing that image brought back a ghost pain in her arm. She had never been so terrified in her life; Bull Rancors were no laughing matter. "The man you fought was Darth Kahn; and yes, he was one of our men. Quite often, especially during the Clone Wars, Sith lords would come to us to recruit one of our men to be trained in the dark art of the Force. Our men are not Sith by nature; a spell has to be placed upon them to allow them to access the Force. That was the case with Darth Kahn as well."

"So, you know who the menace is?" Anakin asked, hoping that it did not come down to forcing her to rat out one of her 'customers'.

"Yes," Mother Tjek replied. "He's an ancient evil that has come to exact his revenge. As for the two Bull Rancors, they were two of his products, created through a dark magic known as Sith Alchemy."

"Sith Alchemy? I thought we've seen the last of that dark practice," Jacen muttered, clearly unnerved by this sudden revelation.

Gideon looked around the table to see the awkward looks on the face of all the Jedi. Just by the name 'Sith Alchemy' he knew they were talking about more Jedi stuff. At first, he debated whether or not is appropriate to ask what it was. He hated being so ignorant when it came to this religion. He wished he had not gone out of his way to avoid anything to do with Jedi and Sith. His life was becoming too dependent on these two religions, and having the knowledge about them would have helped it a lot at this very moment. "Did I miss something? What's Sith Alchemy?

"It's a dark magic practiced by some of the most dangerous Sith Lords of the past. With it, they were able to create deadly monsters or weapons, usually for the purpose of mass destruction." Jada replied.

"Rumors have it that it played a major role in the construction of such weapons like both Death Stars, and the Sun Crusher," Jacen added solemnly. "The Jedi have been under the impression that it died along with Emperor Palpatine."

"It did, for all intent and purposes," Mother Tjek answered, proudly. She was getting a kick at how much they had not known until now. "But as I said, this new darkness is ancient. His name is Darth Sithious; he is the creator of this dark '_science' _as you call it."

"That's impossible," Anakin replied. "Sith Alchemy had been around for millenniums before the fall of the Emperor! There're no known species that have such a long life span."

The clan leader of the Nightsisters was almost mocking in her town. "And there lies the reason why this new threat is so dangerous. Sithious is the only known Sith Lord to have found the path to immortality. He has appeared in the galaxy several times under several different names. The last time he appeared, he was known as Darth Plagueis. He was the one who trained Darth Sidious, or Emperor Palpatine as you know him. Not even he knew his dark secret."

"Where did he come from?" Jada asked. "How is it that we've not known about him earlier?"

"The secret to his immortality is hidden, even from me. I can tell you that he was trained by the original Sith species, back before both the original Sith and the Jedians, or the prophets as you refer to them as, began to training outside their species. After learning what he can from the Sith, he created Sith Alchemy, and then turned around and destroyed the Sith. He seeks to recreate a new race of Sith in his own image. So far, you Jedi have proven to be too resilient to have his goal accomplished by any of his apprentices. That's why he has come now, to do the job himself."

"Maybe this is the smuggler in me, but you're being awfully generous with the information you're giving," Gideon commented. "Aren't you afraid that this _'Sithious'_ character will come after you for speaking with us?"

"Everything I'm telling you is by his design. There is nothing that happens in this galaxy that he is unaware of. You're arrival here has been predetermined by this master manipulator. He knows what you are going to do before you do. Everything you are learning now, he wants you to know at this time."

Jada had to wonder if Sithious was using the witch priestess to pass on misinformation. Gideon had a really good point; Mother Tjek was being way to obliging with this information. She was almost convinced that the dark lord was trying to intimidate the Jedi. He's got another thing coming if he thought the Jedi Order would cower so easily. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"All I can give you, now, is a prophecy of the things that I've seen that will be. Try as you may, this is as certain as night and day. _By his hand: planets will crumbled, governments will fall,..." _Mother Tjek's head turned until her beady red eyes bore uncomfortably into Jada's soul. _ "...and heroes will be lost_."

* * *

><p>The moment the Vulture Run was off the surface of the planet, the Jedi reported back to Jedi Grand Master, Luke Skywalker, with all the information that they learned. As they told him everything, he said nothing except for an occasional "I see". After giving him the full details of the conversation, he finally revealed the thoughts that were flashing through his mind during this whole debriefing. "I had a hunch that Sith Alchemy was involved with those two monsters on Ando. We now know the name of this unknown menace, which is a step in the right direction."<p>

"Should we really pay any heedance to anything she told us?" Jacen asked. "She seemed more intent in trying to scare us, in my opinion."

"On any other day, I may have agreed with you. As it is, everything you're telling me is confirming everything I've already sensed through the Force. We can't afford to underestimate Sithious; there's too much at stake here."

"What about the prophecy?" Jada asked, almost refusing to believe that they were to take that seriously. She almost didn't tell her master about it. Something told her that the prophesy was aimed directly at her and not just the entire Jedi Order.

"The Nightsisters may be neutral, but they still serve the Dark Side. Dark Prophecies are based on emotions, and can change on a whim. Emotions blind us from seeing the truth; it's like looking into a cracked mirror; it twists and distorts the image until it's unrecognizable. "

Anakin was not so much concerned about the prophecy as he was the nagging feeling that they had entered into a mystery so tangled, that this discovery paled in comparison. He could almost hear the mocking laugh of their enemy in the back of his mind. There was no mistaking the confident the radiated from Sithious' presence. "So, we know who we're up against, now what?" he asked.

"I've talked to Jaina, and she's working on a way to allow Admiral Barkley to come to Coruscant. Return to the Constantine, and make your way back. We've got much to discuss."

* * *

><p>The thought of working for a Sith Lord made his stomach turn. Tojar was a Jedi Hunter; in his eyes, all Force users were evil. Unfortunately, his clan had been all but decimated. He was forced into freelance bounty work for Rotta the Hutt. He was in desperate need of credit, so he could one day resurrect the Jedi Hunters to their former glory.<p>

Mandalore has all but forsaken him and his cause. He had become an outcast by his own people when they turned against him and aligned themselves with the Jedi. If it wasn't for their treachery, the Jedi would have fallen, and a new Sith Lord would not have risen. Why couldn't the world see that peace would never be long lasting as long as the Jedi were allowed to live?

Now, coming before the Sith lord, he knew that he could not have turned down this offer, even if he wanted to. The credits that was promised to him was too great to ignore. With it, he could begin his quest to resurrect his clan. In the end, this dark lord would regret the day that he hired his service.

Sitting on his thrown, Sithious was nothing like what Tojar had expected. He had much more of an appearance of an incompetent, but physically strong, minion. He was very muscular, with a robotic right arm. Sith Masters tend to have intimidating apprentices to instill fear, but most of the times, there was nothing scary at all about the Master's appearance. The demeanor of this giant brute seemed very out of place; there was a clear confidence emanating from him.

Sithious glared down at him with an expressionless look. "Welcome, Tojar of the Jedi Hunters clan."

Tojar knew that this would be the extent of their small talk. He never cared about it, and he was fairly certain that the Sith lord was the same. "You needed my service?"

Sithious grinned, amused by his directness. "Yes, I am in need of someone with your particular skill set." With a press of a button on the arm of his chair, a life-size, color, holographic image of a very young and attractive woman appeared between them. Tojar recognized the face and her black hair; he had dealings with her awhile back, while she was just a teenage girl. He had no idea of who she was, nor had he really cared to know. Jedi were all evil in his eyes. "I want you to stealthily go to Coruscant and find out all you can about this girl. I want to know who she is and who her master is."

"I'm not a spy," Tojar interjected. "I'm a bounty hunter. If you want her capture or killed, that's another story."

"You will have your chance at a later time. However, if you need a target to appease your pride, then you can go ahead and try to assassinate the smuggler, Gideon Mars, who has been placed under the Jedi's protection."

"Hmmm," Tojar hummed from behind his battle helmet. "I know Gideon Mars, quite well. I'd be doing a great service to Rotta and most of the galaxy by disposing of that scum. Very well, you've just hired my service."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

After they returned back to the Constantine, Admiral Barkley ordered his ship towards Coruscant. Now on their way home, Jacen had the time to get something to eat; his stomach was heavily protesting the recent neglect he'd been showing it lately. Now that time allotted itself, he made his way to the mess hall. As he walked down the corridor, he marveled at how highly efficient the construction of the Star Destroyer's innards; he never had the privilege to ride on an imperial warship. Everything was clean and orderly almost to the point of compulsiveness.

As he continued to marvel at his surroundings,a golden-blonde haired woman had walked past him. He almost didn't see her, but what he did see made him stop in his tracks. Instead of looking for himself, he replayed his memories in the Force like a security holovid. What he found could not be true; his memory had to be playing tricks on him. He was seeing a ghost from the past.

"You're a Jedi too?"

The voice startled him out of his mental focus, only to find that very ghost looking into his eyes. His eyes confirmed what his memories declared, but her voice was not the same. This young woman was not Tahiri, his brother's wife of old. "I am."

Her eyes were glittering with youthful exuberance. She was thrilled, to say the least, to have Jedi onboard the ship, a sentiment that were not shared by many crew members of the Constantine. "I met another Jedi, several days ago, before your journey to Dathomir. I can't imagine going to that planet; I've heard some very creepy stories of things that happen there. I hope I never get sent to that planet after I become a Jedi."

She was speaking faster than he could keep up with. _What was that about becoming a Jedi?_ Her excitement was causing her to switch topics abruptly, before he even had a chance to respond. She had a way of tying his mind in knots, and not knowing what to respond to first.

Sensing that she had already lost him, she corrected course. She obviously had this problem a countless number of times. "Oh, please forgive me; I haven't introduced myself to you yet. Here I am, blabbing away, and you must wonder who this strange woman is! My name is Titinya, but my friends call me Ti."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Ti. The other Jedi you met would probably be my younger brother, Anakin." He could only imagine what his brother went through when they first met. This woman looked so much like Anakin's wife, it was scary. He could only imagine the conversation they would have had if Anakin had inadvertently called her 'Tahiri'.

"I suspected as much. You two look almost the same," She said wryly. "I was so lucky I ran into your brother. He promised he will mention me to the Jedi council and will ask them if he could take me to be his apprentice."

"So, you're a Force user, then?"

"Yes. I've had to keep it a secret for so long; it's not easy being one in the former Imperial government. We may be the Galactic Alliance now, but there's still that Imperial mentality that blames the Jedi for all that is wrong in the galaxy."

Jacen could feel that 'mentality' through Force even in this ship. The Galactic Alliance was still in its infant stages, and it'd probably be another generation before they would respect the Jedi. "Well, I am sure that my brother will train you well in the ways of the Force, as Master Skywalker had trained us," Jacen said pleasantly. "I was making a stop at the mess hall. Care to join me for a bite to eat?"

Flattered by the offer, Ti displayed a giant grin on her face. "I can't say no to an offer like that from a Jedi master."

* * *

><p>The Constantine and her sister ships were approaching Coruscant. Gideon was on his way to meet Jada at her quarters, after they were summoned to the bridge by Admiral Barkley. Plagued with confusion, he had become unnerved. His past has come back to haunt him, and now he was finding himself contemplating whether or not to tell her the full truth. Never before had he questioned his decision; it was a choice that would alter the course of his life forever, but something about Jada had changed all that. He had promised himself that no woman would cause him to question himself, but she was no ordinary woman.<p>

He was about to reach the door to her quarters when the door slid open and she came out so quickly, he nearly collided with her. The two of them awkwardly took two steps back, away from each other. "Oh, sorry abou..."

As his eyes focused towards Jada after their disorienting mishap, he felt his breath leave his lungs. She was not wearing her typical Jedi wardrobe as he had come accustomed to seeing. Wearing a formal green dress, with golden outlines, she was more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Her hair, which was normally tightly braded in a single ponytail, was now flowing loosely around her shoulders blades. She looked like a whole new woman... almost angel-like.

Gideon could not regain his smug composure; he was too awestruck and mesmerized by her radiance. "Wow, you...you...you look stunning!"

She was not comfortable with the comment as she looked away. "My Jedi garments are pretty much in shambles; I'm not going to appear before the Jedi council or the politicians looking like that. I'm lucky that the admiral had a female crew officer, who just happened to be my size and willing to lend me her dress."

He was still at a loss for words. He could not get his eyes to look away from her. Time felt like it had frozen in place, and his feet felt like durasteel. It was as if she had some kind of spell over him. All social inhibitions were inadvertently lost, and it was starting to wear on Jada. "Stop looking at me like that, and let's get to the bridge."

The threatening tone in her voice was the jump start that his brain needed. "Oh...yeah...sure. Uh, this way!"

Walking, together, towards the bridge, Gideon intentionally looked away from her, trying his best to hide his blushing face. Embarrassed beyond words, he could not explain the mental shut-down. No woman had ever caused him to stumble like that. As they entered the bridge, they saw the Admiral talking to a life-size holographic image standing on the holopad. It was a communication from the New Republic. Jada recognized the holographic image to be that of Nylia Fey'lya, current Minister of State of the New Republic.

Minister of State Fey'lya was the daughter of the late Borsk Fey'lya, who was a senator and former Chief of State of the new Republic. Many who have known Borsk Fey'lya say that his daughter, though still a full-blooded Bothan, was nothing like his father. She was much more pleasant to speak to, especially if she thought of you as an alley. Stand against her, though, and she could politically destroy you. She lived for politics, a typical Bothan trait, and very much like her father. She had learned much from his flaws, and she vowed to be a better than him in every aspect. It was that promise that allowed her to serve for her constituents and not for herself.

Jada and Gideon joined the admiral where Minister Fey'lya instantly took noticed of her arrival. The admiral greeted them with a courteous nod. "Coruscant has sent a transmission demanding to know why we are infringing upon New Republic Space."

Strange, it seemed as if she was uninformed about their arrival. Did Jaina miss a step? She was supposed to pull strings so they could come to Coruscant. There had to be a miscommunication somewhere. Jada looked into the Bothan's eyes with the authority that the title of a Jedi Knight gave her. "Minister Fey'lya, I am Lady Jada, of the Jedi order."

"Do you realize what trouble you are about to bring down on us by coming here in an imperial warship?" she scolded, her fur rippling wildly.

"I apologize, but I was under the impression that..."

The Minister of State cut her off abruptly, far unusual for her personality. She had the utmost respect for everyone, and she always listened to every word in a conversation. "It is hard enough to justify keeping our relations with the Galactic Alliance while trying to keep our own government from falling apart! The presence of an Imperial Star Destroyer, here on Coruscant, will make things even worse."

There was more being said here than what words were expressing. This was an act. The Minister of State had to believe that someone was listening in to her conversations. She was pretending, perhaps, for the entertainment for whoever's ears were listening in. Minister Fey'lya was proving to be a very talented performer; she almost had Jada convinced. She now knew that she had no choice but to play along. "I understand the situation, Minister Fay'lya. The Jedi order is working hard to find a peaceful resolution to this predicament. I am here with Master Anakin Solo and Master Jacen Solo. We will attest to the Admiral's peaceful intentions."

"And may I ask what business does the Admiral have here on Coruscant?"

That was something she was wasn't prepared for. How was she supposed to answer that without breaking the act? What was she supposed to say, and even more importantly, what wasn't she supposed to say?

As her mind raced for something to say, a familiar feminine voice echoed in the back of her mind. Jaina was stretching out in the Force and communicating with her. _Say that the Admiral is here to discuss terms to open information trade negotiations._

She did as told, hoping that this was some kind of secret password that she and the Minister of State had set up to grant permission to the Constantine to dock. "Besides being kind enough to offer us a ride back, he is here to open discussions about starting an information trade alliance with the New Republic."

The Minister of State nodded, as if to say she was contemplating the validity of her answer, but Jada sensed that it was a secret response that said that her password was correct."Well, we thank you very much for bringing the Jedi back to us safely. I will grant permission to allow you to dock the Constantine, but your other two ships will not be allowed to remain in Coruscant space. A security escort will be assigned to you for the duration of your stay here. I hope you find these conditions acceptable, and understand why they are necessary, Admiral."

"I understand, and I thank you, on behalf of the Galactic Alliance, for your hospitality," the Admiral replied with a nod of respect towards Fey'lya.

* * *

><p>As they walked onto the landing pad, they were greeted by Senator Jaina Solo and her handmaidens. Her first stop was to her brothers, as she embraced both of them with hug. She followed that with a similar greeting for Jada. "I knew you'd figure out that Minister Fey'lay was role playing."<p>

It took her a few seconds, but when the Minster of State started acting out of character, she put two-and-two together. "I figured that she had no choice in the matter. Have things really gotten that bad?"

Jada could see the stress in Jaina's eyes. Her black hair seemed to be losing its battle with the gray at an alarmingly faster rate. She was aging faster than Emperor Palatine. She was Jacen's twin sister, but now she looked almost five years older, and all because of the stress she was enduring as of late. The poor woman was tired and weary, but she still remained resolute in her cause to save the New Republic. "It's chaos, Jada. We have senators spying on each other and our leaders, and our leaders are spying on us with the same intensity. Trust is nowhere to be found on Coruscant, and moral is at an all time low. The people have all but given up on the government to the point of riots throughout the lower levels of the planet. Anarchy is like a plague, and it's slowly creeping up to the upper levels. We have class warfare like never before, and we have senators, like Senator Balrosa, only adding fuel to the fire."

A horrifying thought occurred to her, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. It was the only explanation for the rapid decay of the New Republic. "We have a saboteur! Someone in the government is working for SIthious!"

"You've come to the same conclusion as I have," a familiar voice answered back. Joining them on the landing platform was the Jedi Grand Master, himself, Luke Skywalker. He walked with his cain and with a slight limp due to the many injuries he had suffered in battle during his long life span. No longer did he have his boyish look which he had kept for most of his life. The years had caught up to him, coming at him out of revenge, and made him look even older. With him were fellow Jedi Master Kyp Durron and the familiar face of Senator Wedge Antilles. "I was unable to say anything over the communication, but I suspect that Sithious has spies and saboteurs in both governments. That's the real reason why I thought it necessary to allow Admiral Barkley to come to Coruscant. I suspect that our saboteur will have some sort of ties to the saboteur in the Galactic Alliance."

"Talking about which," Jaina interrupted, as she walked towards the admiral. When she first laid eyes on him, she had to fight to keep her composure. The admiral was a strikingly handsome man, with strategically place strands of gray hair amongst a sea of black which gave him a very elegant and sophisticated look. She knew just by looking that he was the gentleman of all gentlemen. "Welcome to Coruscant, Admiral Barkley. My name is Jaina Solo, New Republic senator of Coruscant."

"The honor is all mine," he replied smoothly, taking her hand and kissing the back of it as if she was royalty. She was so taken back by the gesture, she had no idea how to respond.

While she was busy greeting the GA Admiral, Master Skywalker went over to greet Gideon Mars who, once again, felt like he was being ignored. He had no idea why he felt ignored, or why he even cared to have attention; he had spent most of his life trying to be ignored by the Jedi Order. Somewhere down the line, that had change. "Gideon Mars, I presume."

"Yes, sir," Gideon replied, shaking the hand of the elderly Jedi Grand Master.

"You pulled a very nasty trick on Master Durron, here," He said with a surprising humorous grin on his face.

Master Durron did not share his amusement. He had been embarrassed by his trickery. It wasn't easy to pull a fast one on him, yet this swindling smuggler had done just that. He was almost halfway back to Coruscant when he realized that Gideon was not on the ship. He felt like an incompetent young Jedi knight when he addressed the council on what happened. "Yes, you made me look quite bad. How did you get off the yacht without me knowing it? It's not easy to fool a Jedi Master."

Gideon smiled, trying his best not to break out in laughter. He had no intentions in embarrassing the Jedi Master, but he could not help but find the slight injury of the pride of Jedi Master to be just a little funny. "A good smuggler never reveals his secret."

Master Skywalker positioned himself in the center of the large group, that had gathered on the landing pad, to address everyone. Everyone ceased their conversations with one another to give the elder Jedi Master their attention. "I'm afraid any further pleasantries will have to wait, for time is very short. One thing we will have to do, quickly and quietly, is to search through any communications that've been made from Coruscant and see if any can be traced to Bastion. However, we have to aquire the help of a slicer to break through any encryption that our saboteur may have put in place."

"Uh, If I may say something," Ti raised her hand, almost afraid to interrupt the Jedi Master. She would have never done so unless if it wasn't so important that she did. "I just want to point out that I do have _SOME_ slicing experience that might help."

"Please forgive me, Master Skywalker," Admiral Barkley nodded in respect. "This is my niece, Titinya Barkely."

To their surprise, Luke took no offense to the interruption in the least. For a legendary hero of the Republic, he was overflowing with humility, compassion, and humbleness. There were traits not often found in legendary warriors. "Ah yes, you're the one that Master Anakin Skywalker seeks to train. We've been expecting you. For now, I think it would be wise that we take things to a more private setting."

"Admiral Barkley, my handmaidens will take you to your quarters and get you and your people settled in while the Jedi have their meeting at the Jedi Temple. I'm afraid I've got pressing matters that I have to attend to."

"Much obliged," the admiral replied kindly.

"The rest of us... we must make our way to the Jedi Temple as discretely as possible," Master Skywalker said.

Taking his cue, Master Kyp Durron led the way towards another landing pad, where a shuttle awaited to take the Jedi to the Jedi temple. Titinya went along all the Jedi, while Anakin took up the rear. He felt the soft grip on his shoulder, hold him back. He turned to see that it was Admiral Barkley who had held him back. "Master Solo, I just wanted to personally thank you for what you're doing for my niece. You've no idea how much I've wanted something like this for her. Since her parents died, I've had to hide her abilities from my people for so long, I was beginning to fear that she would never have a life of her own."

"I don't believe in coincidences, Admiral Barkley." Anakin replied. "I believe it's her destiny to become a Jedi knight, whether it's me who trains her or someone else."

"I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you helping her get her foot in the door. I suspect her life will fill much more fulfilled here in the New Republic."

"With all due respect, Admiral, I'm still hoping that one day, the Jedi will be a relevant part of the Galactic Alliance as well as the New Republic."

The Admiral grinned. "You and I share the same dream, my friend."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

As the Jedi council convened, Jada was surprised that Chief of State Kronos Valnor was there, in holographic form, to listen in to all the reports that she, Anakin, and Jacen had to give. She would have assumed that the New Republic would have been kept completely in the dark over their mission to aid the Freedom Alliance in their investigation. Supposedly, that did not apply to the Chief of State.

Kronos Valnor was a virtual unknown in the world of politics. He was a human, born and raised here on Coruscant. Born a year after the battle of Endor, and the Republic retaking Coruscant from the Empire, his family had humble beginnings as farmers from New Alderaan. How Kronos got the genes for a politician was anyone's guess. All his records said that he was an honest rags-to-riches type of man, and he vowed never to forget where he had started. Master Skywalker, however, had always felt uneasy around him, even more so than other politicians.

All three Jedi gave a very detailed report of everything that had happened. It didn't take her long to realize what was happening; the Jedi council was trying to show that the Freedom Alliance is not a threat to the New Republic. More importantly, they wanted to convince the Kronos that there may be a spy in the New Republic that had to be found. Between the three of their stories, there was more than enough evidence to at least consider launching an investigation in the matter. However, it appeared that the Chief of State didn't agree. "This is all very interesting, Master Skywalker, and very compelling, but everything I've just heard has been nothing more than speculation based on events, not on any form of hard evidence. You can't expect me to believe that we have a traitor here in the New Republic working with a traitor in the Freedom Alliance, do you? "

"Anything's possible," Master Skywalker replied, carefully studying the Chief of State's reaction. "This would not be the first time the Sith have infiltrated the republic. Let's not forget about the lessons we've learned from Emperor Palpatine."

"And that we have," Kronos replied. "We've set up a strict constitution that will prevent such an occurrence from happening again. That's why I find it very unlikely that a spy could have infiltrated so deep into the New Republic."

That was where the two men differed drastically in their beliefs. "With all due respect, Chief of State, enforcing more laws is hardly measure enough to prevent another Palpatine from taking power. Actually, more regulations make it all-the-more easier."

The Chief of State sighed. "Master Skywalker, I have a lot of respect for you and what you've done for the New Republic, but I'm not really interested in getting into another political debate, not when we're on the verge of war."

"I agree. All we're suggesting is that we look into the possibility of a saboteur. We can't afford to have someone working against our attempts to maintain order and stability," Luke replied calmly and logically.

Kronos appeared to be sincerely thinking about the request. "I can't pull away any resources right now; it's taking everything I have to keep us from falling apart. If you are so certain about this, then you do your investigation, but under the constraints of New Republic law."

The holographic image disappeared, and the Jedi were alone to conduct the rest of their session behind closed doors. Master Durron grunted at the abrupt departure. "Well, that sure doesn't grant us much favor, now does it? You'd think he'd give us some leeway so we can conduct a proper investigation. Under all these new regulations, our hands are basically tied."

"It is possible that he's hiding something?" another Jedi Master asked.

Master Skywalker was slow to reply. Jada knew him well enough to know that he had his doubts towards the Chief of State, but none of it was concrete enough to make mention of it to the rest of the council. If he couldn't get a feel from the Force, one way or another, then he was not about to sew a seed of discord among the council. "Impossible to say, for certain. I do believe he's sincere in the fact, he's stretched out too thin to be able to conduct a thorough investigation. His concern _SHOULD_ be in trying to keep the New Republic together. His refusal to relax any laws for us comes to no surprise to me; actually, I respect him more for standing up for his beliefs, as misguided as I think they are."

"So, what possibly type of investigation can we possibly hold with so many restrictions over our heads?"

The Jedi Grand Master displayed a face that Jada had never seen. She knew he was about to suggest something that was going to ruffle feathers amongst the Jedi councils. She, as well as Anakin and Jacen, remained quiet as the council discussed the situation, and she sensed that her master was about to do something to only intensify it further. "Under current regulations, we can't do a thorough investigation legally, but I'm going to suggest something which no council have dared to even consider in the history of the Jedi Order."

"Oh, great," Master Durron mumbled underneath his breath. He was already starting to see what was coming, and he knew this was going to cause a heated debate.

"We'll have to be extremely cautious, but we may have to ignore the new regulations and do our investigation, anyway."

The reaction, of all the Jedi Masters, was identical; they could not believe what the Grand Master was suggesting. Kyp was the most illogical one to protest such a rebellious suggestion, but there he was—the only one to speak out what everybody was thinking. "You want us to defy New Republic law? Forgive me, but you've never been the rebellious type."

Master Skywalker was getting a kick out of the reaction of the council. "I admit this is complete out of character for me, but I think it's time to start thinking outside the box. I believe our spy is banking on the law to keep him out of our reach. Sithious is expecting us to play by our normal Jedi code. I think it's time we try to surprise him and hope we can catch him off guard."

"The Jedi council is already under scrutiny by Senator Bal Barosa. He's desperate to tie the Jedi to some sort of conspiracy, and if we're not careful, this could give him the ammo he needs to turn the Republic against us," another Jedi Master pointed out.

"It's a risk that I feel we have no choice but to take. I can't shake the feeling that we've been playing right into Sithious hand. I truly feel that he's using our own Jedi code against us; therefore, I think we need to 'bend the rules' a bit. Perhaps it will be enough to trip him up into making a mistake. Fortunately, we have an opportunity to do a thorough investigation."

That riled up the Jedi council. Jada had never seen her Master cause such a disturbance before. Even she had to question his intentions. This was not the same Luke Skywalker that had saved the Republic on countless occasions. This was the Luke Skywalker that had briefly flirted with the Dark Side. The reactions from the other Jedi Masters suggested that she was not the only one feeling like that.

"Master Skywalker, she may have passed the test, but we've yet to discuss whether Titinya Barkley SHOULD be trained. Are you suggesting we accept her merely so we can have her talents at our disposal?" Master Kurr asked, stunned by this request. Kurr was a close personal friend of Master Skywalker. He was there by Master Skywalker's side when his wife was killed. Of the Cathar species, Kurr was a great warrior in battle, and one of the most loyal Jedi Master Skywalker had ever known. Jada had grown quite fond of him, as well. She considered him her godfather. Being the one most grounded in the Jedi code and the least likely to ever turn to the dark side, if Master Kurr was disturbed by what was transpiring, then it was a clear-cut testimony of the gravity of the suggestion.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason why she shouldn't be trained?"

"She's too old, for one," one of the masters answered quickly. "The Jedi Order is no longer short on Jedi; we no longer need to train fully grown adults."

Another Jedi Master had a different object. "Having a talent of splicing is hardly a noble ability for a Jedi Knight."

"Not to mention admitting the daughter of the Freedom Alliance's Supreme Military General into the Jedi Order will only escalate tensions in the New Republic—perhaps to the point of war." Master Kurr added.

All of those reasons were very good reasons, Jada had to admit. She could not help but feel sorry for Ti; her circumstance could very well prevent her from becoming a Jedi knight. Somehow, though, she sensed that her Master was not going to let this matter end like that. "All very reasonable concerns. I urge the members of this council to seek guidance of the Force. If you sense anything that gives you pause on the matter, then I will respect the decision of this council, and she will not be trained as a Jedi."

The Jedi council looked at each other, almost as if each member were checking up on the others to see if any of them were considering this. Jada found herself reaching out in the Force as well, and found no darkness surrounding this young woman. It was as if the Force, itself, was giving its seal of approval of this woman from the Galactic Freedom Alliance.

Master Kurr had done the same and the looks on all the faces showed that the rest of the council had done it as well. "I can sense no dark cloud in her future. Very well, Master Skywalker, I will motion that we allow Master Anakin Solo to take her as his apprentice. I also motion that we approve Master Skywalker's audacious plan and accept all risks associated with it."

The heads of every master on the Jedi Council nodded in agreement. This whole situation may be questionable, at best, but Master Skywalker had proven himself time-and-time again. If this was the direction he believed they needed to take, then they were with him. The Force had always seemed to work things out for him.

The votes were in, and the decision was final. "Then it's decided. Master Solo, Titinya Barkley will be your apprentice. You two will also conduct a thorough investigation in search for the spy in the New Republic. I think you know where you two need to start. May the Force be with us all in this time of crises; I think we're gonna need it."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Anakin, and Titinya had made their way to the communication center in the Republic Executive Building, along with Artoo. It wasn't hard to gain admission; as Jedi, most security personnel automatically assumed they had permission from the Chief of State. It was probably for the best that they didn't know that they didn't have permission.

With Artoo's help, Ti was as confident as ever that she should find something of value to their investigation. Their primary suspect as the spy, at this point, was President Balrosa. He was one of the biggest advocates for his cause, and that also meant he was the least willing to compromise. Something told them that was where they needed to start their investigation.

Part of Chief of State Valnor's new security protocols for Coruscant dictated that all government officials' communications were to be recorded and archived; that included the members of the Jedi council. It was a proposal not well accepted by the Jedi Order. It was a sacrifice for democracy in the name of security. In the wrong hands, such security could be turned against the people of Corsucant.

Despite how reprehensible this policy was, it was now the Jedi's best shot at saving the New Republic. They plugged Artoo to a terminal and then sat down at a station themselves to begin their search. Artoo helped get them get pass several levels of security checks and passwords, and afterwards, help locate all holofiles that had anything to do with Senator Ba Balrosa.

"The senator is a busy man," Ti commented when she saw a list of hundred of hundreds of files being delivered to their stations by Artoo.

"I'm not surprised. He's head of the revolution movement; he's working hard to gain the upper hand," Anakin replied.

Indeed, the senator had been busy as of late. He had spent countless hours on the holovids with many different senators who supported his cause. There was so much to look at, they had split up the files further amongst themselves. Anakin watched holograms of President Bolros' addresses in the senate, Titinya looked through all the recent transmissions, and Artoo looked through footage from all the security holocams in the executive building. Footage after footage, they found nothing suspicious about his behavior. His actions often flirted with becoming unethical, but there was nothing to prove that he was a spy.

"I don't see how someone like this is even allowed into politics," Titinya commented, after finishing another holofile.

"People like him sure keep things interesting, that's for sure," Anakin replied. "How about you, Artoo? Find anything?"

The droid warbled a negative series of bleep and blurbs. He was not seeing any secret meetings or any strange movements from the arrogant senator. Anakin knew he shouldn't be surprised; the senator had to know the extent that he was being watched.

"Wait a minute, Artoo!" Ti said, rushing over to Artoo. "Replay that security footage you were just playing!"

"Notice something?" Anakin asked, standing up from his station to join her behind the droid.

Artoo replayed the security footage on the holopad. It was a hologram taken from the security camera in Senator Ba Balrosa's office. He was standing in front of his holoprojector speaking to the holographic image of Chief of State Valnor.

"Pause it right there!" Ti ordered.

Artoo did as instructed, and the image of the senator talking to the holographic image of the Chief of State. Anakin studied the image carefully, but he could not see anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything."

"Notice the senator's line of sight," she replied back quickly.

Anakin squinted his eyes to focus his visions. It took him a few seconds before he picked up what she was looking at. "You're right, he's looking at the bridge of his nose instead of his 's almost as if he doesn't want to look at the Chief of State directly in the eyes."

"And from all the holograms of him I've seen, he's not that type of person," Ti responded. All the holograms of him that she has seen, he wasn't afraid, in the least, to get into people's faces and stare them right in the eyes. In fact, it appeared that he had an ability to use his eyes as weapons. "Artoo, can you transfer that file over to my station."

Artoo chirped and did as instructed. Anakin and Ti returned to her station as she worked on pulling up the file onto her holopad. "So, it's obvious that the footage's been spliced. What can be done about it?"

Ti didn't even look up; she was busy typing away, already busy at work on the file. "I should be able to unsplice this hologram to its original format."

"Is that even possible?"

"Only by a top notch splicer, like myself." Her fingers continued to race all over the keyboard in blurr. Slowly, the image of the Chief of State began to transform before their eyes. "I think I have it."

The image finished its morphing and the Chief of State had been replaced by a bounty-hunter looking thug with a robotic skeletal arm. The senator's line of site pointed directly into his eyes, telling them that this was the real person he was speaking to. "He, definitely, doesn't look like a politician."

"You think that's Sithious?"

Anakin studied the man's profile, but nothing was striking him as peculiar. The eyes of this new figure did not have a lot of authority behind them. "There's no telling for certain. I think we need to find out, and quick."

* * *

><p>Before leaving, Ti told Artoo what to look for, and asked him to look for any more holofiles that might have been spliced. There was a handful, but all of them in similar circumstances. So, whoever this man was, he was only communicating with Senator Ba Balrosa. So, there were no other senators who might know who he was. Going to Ba Balrosa was out of the question, or they risked exposing what they've been up to. There was only one person on Coruscant that might be able to give them some answers without raising suspicion, though the trip to get to him would be anything but pleasant.<p>

After dropping Artoo off with Jada, they began their long journey. It proved to be long as they took a shuttle down to the underworld of Coruscant. These were the lower levels of the city; the part that attracted the filth and scum of the universe. These parts of Coruscant were not for the weak and light hearted. Anyone who had the credits, always tried to avoid the underworld. Only those who had no choice and no credits dared roam through these levels. Another downside to the underworld was that that it was the perfect place for bounty hunters, or other criminals to hide, if they didn't want to be found.

This was where they would find Flinch. He was a particularly shady Patrolian, but his slimy-little noggin was full of names of almost every pirate, bounty hunter, and crime lord in this part of the galaxy. This would not be the first time the Jedi had come to Flinch to get a name to a face. Much to his disliking, the Patrolian had become their snitch.

As they arrived to Flinch's favorite nightclub, Anakin stopped outside of the doorway. "Stay close, this place can get pretty rough in a hurry, and it doesn't take much to get the locals riled up."

"Agreed," Titinya responded obediently. She was certain that she could handle any situation that might arise in a degenerate place like this, but she was now an apprentice. She was determined to be the best apprentice she could be. She had a feeling that there was going to plenty of times to butt heads further down the road. She had no desire to spend her first day as Master Anakin's apprentice debating her ability to protect herself.

They entered the crowded nightclub where the music was bordering on deafening. Like always, the joint was overflowing with countless numbers of species. They had to slither through the crowd, and Anakin would have to keep his right hand over his lightsaber to keep it from being stolen. In one corner of the room, there was a loud, riled up group of people gathered around a holoscreen, cheering as they watched their football game. In the opposite side of the joint, some males from various species enjoyed the erotic Twi'lek cage dancers. At the far end of the joint, was the bar, which was just as crowded as the other activities in the nightclub.

Anakin led the way towards the bar, allowing the Force to direct his path. Ti figured that Flinch had to have a favorite spot at the bar, because Anakin knew exactly where to go and where to find him. The small, yellow-skinned aquatic fellow was there at the bar, his neck fins twitching as they approached. "I'm not a Jedi, but I can sense you coming a parsec away," Flinch grumbled in his fishy, growl-like voice.

"And you didn't run away," Anakin commented. "I suppose that means you've got nothing to fear."

"I supposed you're here to have me ID another known felon. Why won't you Jedi just leave me alone? I have a reputation to maintain!"

"Your reputation doesn't concern me, at this moment. Stopping the fall of the Republic is," Anakin said, pulling out a portable holopad. With the press of the button, the image of the mysterious figure talking to Senator Ba Balrosa appeared on top of the pad. "I need to know who this is."

Flinch barely gave the image a good look before he sighed. "I have no idea, now let me drink in peace!"

Anakin nodded as he got comfortable on the stool next to him. "Come, now Flinch. You know you've never been able to lie to a Jedi."

"I said, leave me alone, Jedi!" Flinch said angrily. With his fish-like voice, it took everything Ti had not to laugh at loud. It was impossible to take this Patrolian's anger seriously. His voice just did him no justice when it came to emphasizing anger. His height and appearance didn't help matters either.

"Please, Master Jedi, don't mess up my bar," the bar's proprietor pleaded from behind the bar. "I just got her fixed up!"

"You hear that, Flinch. We don't want to damages this poor fellow's bar, now do we?"

"Ugg!" The Patrolian said in disgust. "I can't keep doing this for you Jedi, or I'll never be able to show my face anywhere in the galaxy ever again!"

"Then stay here on Coruscant, and you'll be safe," Anakin replied simply. "Either way, you are going to tell me who this is."

Flinch grumbled as he spun his stool around to get in a more comfortable position to study the holographic image. After a few seconds of studying, he spun back around to the bar. "His name is Kartel. He's nothing more than a drifter. He's physically strong, but there's not much in here," he said, tapping the side of his scaly, slimy, egg-shapped skull.

"You don't say," Anakin said, calmly.

"It's the truth," Flinch said defensively. "His lack of intelligence has gotten him kicked out of many crime rings, and pirate clans. He's too dumb to make a good bounty hunter. He's a follower... not a leader. He's always searching for a cause to follow."

"Interesting. Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Sithious?"

"No, why? Should I have?" Flinch rolled his neck, his species' way of physically expressing exasperation. His response might have been suspiciously quick, but Anakin could sense no deceit.

"Thank you for your assistance, my little, yellow friend!" Anakin said, standing from his stool and bowing his head in benediction.

Flinch merely grunted. "Friend? I don't think so, Jedi."

Anakin and Ti made their way out of night club. As soon as he was certain they were long gone, he pressed the communication receiver in his odd-shaped ear. "You were right about everything, the Jedi did come asking about him. I'll have the sliced holofeed from the security cameras ready within the hour; all I need to know is what to do with the data disk when I'm done."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

It felt like electricity coursing through her nerves in her chest. It was a feeling that she had not had for a long time. Standing in front of the visitor's quarters, she couldn't explain why this sudden uneasiness had come upon her now. She wasn't the type of person to lose her confidence talking to anyone. She was a politician; she was used to having conversations with some of the most powerful leaders in the galaxy. She was great in debates and raising funds whenever the need arise.

Being the daughter of Leia Organa Solo, Jaina had acquired her mother's knack for politics. Half way through her Jedi training, back when she was a young girl, she had started getting and inkling that the path of a Jedi was really not for her. She was more fascinated by the politics behind the New Republic. What really sold her on quitting the Jedi order was a conversation she overheard her parents were having. Her mother knew that her time in the New Republic government would not last forever. She expressed grave concern about who would represent the moral light in a career that can so easily corrupt the weak willed. When Jaina thought about it, she knew she had to represent the next generation of a rare breed of uncompromising politicians with a high standard of morals. That conversation her parents had was what set her down the path that brought her to where she was today.

She stood there thinking about all the days under her mother's tutelage, when the door slid open. General Baron Barkley answered the door, himself. "Senator Solo, this is a pleasant surprise. Please... come in."

Jaina nodded with a gentle smile on her face, and entered the visitor's quarters. Inside, she found a few of his guards who were only now relaxing after realizing the admiral was safe. "I hope you're finding your accommodations decent enough. I wish we were able to offer you the typical royal suite we usually offer to our high-ranking visitors."

The smile on Admiral Barkley's face was smooth; it almost reminded her of her father's grin. "Under the current circumstance, I can expect no more. You're hospitality has been nothing short of outstanding."

"I'm glad to hear it," she replied.

"Please, feel free to take a seat," Baron said, escorting her to the couch. "I've put in a request for a bottle of membrosia, and it just arrived. Care to share a drink with me?"

"I've got the session with the senate shortly, but... why not."

The two of them sat on the couch as the admiral grabbed two of the six drinking glasses on the end table. He handed one of them to Jaina and then grabbed the bottle filled to the rim with the golden, sparkling beverage. He gently filled her glass half way, and then matched that with his. After putting the bottle back onto the table, he raised his glass to make a toast. "Here's to finding a solution to solidify peace in not just the New Republic but between our two governments, as well."

"I'll drink to that," Jaina said, tapping his drinking glass with hers. The two of them sipped on their beverage until their glasses were empty.

"So, you address the senate today? " Baron asked as he placed his empty glass on the end table.

Jaina took a deep breath. "That's the plan. I don't think I've ever made as important of a speech as this one. I've been practicing it for hours."

"If you were only half the politician your mother was, you'll have them eating out of your hand. Seeing that you're more so... I think they have no chance."

Jaina smiled at the complement, but couldn't get herself to fully make eye contact with him. He flummoxed her like no one she had ever met. He was a very savvy man... nonchalant and graceful in character. He seemed like anything but a military admiral. Not even Thrawn, himself, could match his composure. He had an aura about him that was simply intoxicating. It made her feel slightly uncomfortable..., but at the same time, she found it very appealing. She didn't have to come here on the way to the Senate Dome, but she found herself drawn here to do so, anyway. There was something about him that made her want to talk to him more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you."

She had no idea that her face was blushing. Her guard was down... she had no intention of exposing her personal self. That was another characteristic about him. He had an uncanny way in making her feel comfortable enough to open herself up, personally. That bothered her even more. "No, you didn't embarrass me. I appreciate the vote of confidence. Still, I would be ready to leave Coruscant in a moment's notice, just in case things take a turn for the worse."

"Is the Force warning you of something?"

"I sense a disturbance, but it's more like an intuition than it is something concrete." Jaina didn't know how much he knew about the Force. Yes, his niece was Force sensitive and currently in training to become a Jedi knight, but how much did they truly know about the Force?

"Well you can't argue with a Jedi's instincts. I'll contact my ship and have them ready to depart the moment I give the word."

* * *

><p>Jada waited in her quarters for the rest of her companions who were going to meet up wither her to join Jaina as she addressed the senate. Jacen had gone with Gideon when he suggested they all grab a bite to eat before the session with the Senate. She lied, saying that she wasn't hungry. Jacen went with him, knowing that even though they were on Coruscant, that didn't mean that an assassination attempt wouldn't be made. She was grateful for this time of peace and quiet; it was the first time she had been able to really meditate in the Force for quite some time.<p>

As she meditated, time had no relevance; she had no concept of time. Depending on how deep into her meditation she went, she could easily loose a day, barring any distractions. That was how it was for any Jedi. That was why before any Jedi went into a meditation, they would left a portion of their minds open, to detect the need to come out of their meditation in an instant.

That sense that she had left open was now alerting her that she should come out of her meditation. It was not an alarm to alert her of danger, so she slowly drifted back into the real world. As her eyes fluttered open, she heard the door to her quarters slid open and a warm, welcoming voice greeted her. "I didn't mean to interrupt your meditation, but we've haven't had any time to talk personally since you've been back. We might as well take these few minutes that we have now to talk."

"Yes, Master," Jada said as she unfolded her legs and stood up to more properly greet her Jedi master.

Master Skywalker entered her quarters to allow the door to slide shut and give them some privacy. He slowly walked towards the couch to sit down. "Since you've returned, I can't help but sense something laying heavily on your mind, and I think I know what it is."

"Master?" Jada gave him a confused look.

"You don't have to be a Jedi to see what's going on. You've developed feelings for Gideon Mars. Your feelings are clearly displayed in your actions and mannerisms."

She sighed, knowing it was futile to deny those feelings any longer. You can't hide something like that froma Jedi, especially from your Jedi Master. Her reply was soft, to concede the matter."Yes Master."

Luke nodded as he looked to the ground. "This is, indeed, surprising. You've been one of my best apprentices. May I remind you what the Jedi code says?"

"I'm aware of what the Code says, and I will abide by it," she replied. "I may have feelings for him, but I know the Jedi council will never allow me to have a relationship with someone of his background."

"You are not forbidden, but if you chose to do so, you must leave the Jedi order. You'll have to go through Force inhibitory training.

The training that her master was talking about was something he had invented shortly after forming the new Jedi Council. He actually created a form of training where a Jedi could diminish their abilities to use the Force. Everyone believed he created it to avoid the mistakes his father made back during the clone wars. His hope was to eliminate any chance of the Sith reemerging. It seemed to have worked... up to now.

"I'm not going to give up the way of the Jedi, Master. I've made a commitment to the Jedi Order and to the Republic. There'll be no relationship between Gideon Mars and myself."

Luke smiled, switching from a Jedi Master mode to a warmer, friendlier mode. "You're a stronger Jedi than I, if you can flip off these feelings like a light pad. Love is never an easy emotion to control. If this is your desire, then may the Force be with you."

Her doors slid open and her quarters started to come to life with activity. Anakin and Titinya arrived alone, looking as if they had awkwardly interrupted a private matter. "Ah, you're here... good. Have you found anything?"

"We found out that Senator Ba Balrosa has been speaking with someone by the name of Kartel. Our source says that his low intelligence keeps him from finding steady employment as a pirate or bounty hunter. However, he has an unquenchable desire to be part of a cause; he has an uncontrollable desire to follow someone with great power."

"It certainly sounds like someone a Sith master would want working for them: someone with minimal intelligence, unquestionable loyal, and easily disposable," Jada commented.

Luke stroked his prickly white beard. "This is a good start, but far from enough to implicate the senator. I sense this is just half of the puzzle; the other half, I suspect, will be found on Bastion."

"Of course," Ti said excitedly. "Last time, we didn't know what we were looking for. Now we do!"

"Exactly! Besides, we know that the Freedom Alliance also has a spy amongst their ranks. This Kartel may be the link between our spy and theirs. If we can confirm this, then we may acquire enough evidence against Senator Balrosa, as well."

The door slid open once again, and the last remaining of the stragglers had finally arrived. "We should be making our way to the Senate Dome, right about now," Jacen said, almost as if he and Gideon had been waiting outside all this time, and had become too impatient to wait any longer. It was very possible that they had walking around and waiting, using the Force to sense when the private conversation between Master Skywalker and herself was over.

"He's right," Luke said, grunting as he struggled to get back up onto his feet. "We should head on over and meet with Jaina."

"We've gone ahead and hailed a hover-cab. He should be waiting for us at the top of the tower," Gideon said.

Their little group filed on out of Jada's quarters. They began their short journey down the corridor towards the turbolifts. The corridor was pretty much empty except for an occasional Jedi or two walking to their own destinations. It was a straight path to the turbolifts, and they didn't have far to walk.

They were half way there when Jada's felt an alarm go off in her head. Without thinking, her instincts took control of her body, and she ripped out her lightsaber and waved it behind Gideon just in time to intercept a poisonous dart. All the Jedi had their lightsabers activated as they turned around to confront the would-be assassin.

Standing there in the middle of the corridor was a heavily armored Mandalorian, holding a blaster in each hand. He was more than just a Mandalorian; the hand-painted insignia on his helmet was a symbol none of them had seen for quite some time. It brought back sour memories for most of the Jedi there. It was the symbol of the Jedi Hunters.

The Jedi Hunter immediately jumped into firing both his blasters rapidly as he sidestepped towards the wall-sized transparisteel with a large view of the upper levels of the city and the bustling traffic patterns between the towers. With all the active lightsabers present, deflecting the shots proved to be no challenge at all. It was never meant to be, either.

Anakin was there in the front, when the attack began. He recognized the Jedi Hunter instantly, and was determined not to let him get away this time. This Mandalorian needed to be brought to justice for his crimes and the Jedi he killed. He deflected a shot in his direction, before he charged after him, screaming his name. "Tojar!"

The Jedi Hunter was quick to holster his right blaster, and pull out a metal disk with a red, glowing button in the center. He pressed the button and tossed it. The disk landed a few meters in front of the charging Jedi, and the moment it touched the ground, bolts of electricity shot up towards Anakin, sending him flying back several meters. It was similar to the sensation of being gripped by Force lightning; the bolts of electricity stung him with great force, all over his body. Before anyone was able to use the Force to free Anakin from the sting of the electricity, the device died on its own.

The distraction was all Tojar had needed. During the commotion, Tojar used his other blaster to shoot the transparisteel. It shattered into millions of sharp, jagged pieces, with some of the shards falling down the side of the Jedi temple. Activating his rocket pack on his back, the Jedi Hunter leaped out of the tower to make his escape.

Anakin was back on his feet in an instant and he and Jada had already taken steps towards the turbolift to persue the Jedi Hunter when Luke called them off. "Let him go! We have more important matters at hand."

"Master, we can't let him get away again!" Anakin protested, clearly emotional over the issue.

"I understand how you both feel, but we can't allow ourselves to be distracted now. Obviously, Sithious has decided to make things personal, and tried to distract us from our task at hand. There will be another time... I promise," Luke replied, clearly pained by this decision he was making as well.

Ti noticed it all. He noticed the emotions that this Mandalorian had managed to stir up among Master Skywalker, Master Anakin, and Jada. She stealthily side stepped her way over to Jacen's side and whispered into his ears. "What's with everyone? What happen with everyone and that Mandalorian?"

Jacen had a grave look on his face when he answered her question. "That was not just any Mandalorian; his name is Tojar. He is the founder of the Jedi Hunters. This particular Jedi Hunter has single handedly killed many Jedi close to us including Master Skywalker's wife, Jada's mother, and Anikan's wife, Tahiri."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

There was a stirring in the Force. Events were starting to boil over... the time for war was at hand. Soon, the New Republic would cross the point of no return. Years of strategizing was about to pay off; the galaxy was about to burn and he would rule over what remained. Under his rule, the Sith would flourish in every corner of the galaxy. It was such a beautiful dream, and it was near becoming a reality.

And what could the Jedi do? They would be wiped out of existence; all memories of them would forever fade. Not one piece of historical evidence would be left to find. It would be as if they had never existed at all. All history would be destroyed. The only history anyone would ever get to learn was what he told them to believe. If you destroy the past, there would be no rebellion in the future. All hope would die with all the archives of the world. Under his rule... there would only be despair.

As Sithous pondered on the glorious future that awaited, a communication came in. The holoprojectors activated automatically, and standing before the dark lord, in holographic form, was the Jedi Hunter: Tojar. "I've been awaiting your update. What do you have for me?"

"The smuggler was too well protected. The assassination attempt failed."

"Never mind the bumbling smuggler; I want to know about that Jedi girl!" Sithous growled. The smuggler was no longer a problem. Things had worked out just the same without his death. There was nothing he could do or say now to stop what was coming. He was now insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It was that Jedi girl that concerned him. The way she fights... there was something very familiar about it. Everything in the Force told him that she was vital in some way.

"Ah, yes. I do have some information about her that you should find very useful," Tojar replied. She is close with all three of the Solos. On top of that, her master is none other than Luke Skywalker."

The truth suddenly dawned on his as if the Force had revealed a long, lost secret. Of course, it made perfect sense. She was way more important than he could have ever imagined. How could he not have known about her? The Jedi Hunter may not know it, but there was even more to the girl than he had realize while studying her. It was clear that he wasn't smart enough to put the whole puzzle together, but Sithious was and had solved the mystery that was rattling in his head.

This new revelation had changed everything; he had a new way to exact his revenge on Skywalker. Now, he could do more than just kill him... he could make him suffer. It was so perfect; he could not believe how much the Force had just blessed him.

Getting no response from him, Tojar folded his arms in front of him. "Do you want me to make another attempt on Mars' life?"

An idea formulated in his mind. He had to draw her to him, and he knew just how to do it. "No, return to me."

"I've done what you asked me," Tojar snapped. "You don't own me, Sith; my allegiance is to Rotta the Hutt. I expect to be paid, and then I'll be on my way."

Sithious remained nonchalant. The deluded Mandalorian failed to realize who he was. He was beyond a mere Sith. It would be easy for the dark lord to kill him from where he was hiding. No, he was not going to kill him; he still had use for him. "Of course, I'll be glad to pay you and send you on way, but then you'd never get your chance at killing a Jedi."

"What do you mean?" Tojar replied, sounding almost like he was threatening the Sith lord.

"I still have use for you, and what I have planned, next, involves you doing what you love to do: kill Jedi."

Tojar's body became more at-ease as he nodded his huge helmet in approval. "Okay, you have my attention."

* * *

><p>The senate met at the Grand Convocation Chamber just like they've been doing for thousands of years; and as usual the senate was full of power hungry, squabbling bureaucrats. There was just something about politics that was able to corrupt any principled being. It was so easy to forget about one's constituents in this line of work. Currency talked louder than words more often than not.<p>

Chief of State Kronons Valnor was on his platform in the heart of the dome shaped room. With him was the Minister of State Fal'lya, and the First Ambassador. Scatter all over the round room were over a thousand repulsorpods. They carried the delegates of every planet in the New Republic. Of course, not all of them were in use, as they once were. Not every member of the Old Republic returned at the end of the war with the Empire.

The Chief of State brought the session to order as this session of the Senate had officially begun. "We are here to discuss the evidence, that all of you should have read about before arriving here. We are here, yet again, to bring reason to insanity. We are on a brink of collapse. We assembled here today, because new evidence is ready to be brought forward. We are also here to discuss recent events that have taken place. With this in mind, I present Senator Jaina Solo, representative of Coruscant."

Her pod floated upward and away from her port, to identify herself to all the delegates of the senate. "Delegates of the New Republic, there is not much more news that may be shed on the tragic death of Supreme Chancellor Leia Organa Solo and Ambassador Solo, my parents. I hope that we all can now agree, that their deaths were not a tragic accident; but they were, in fact, assassinated."

The Senators murmured among themselves. There was no dispute over this fact. Senator Ba Bolrosa and the other delegates behind the call for revolution were proud that they had been proven right. Jada sat on the bench along with Master Skywalker, and Gideon Mars on the pod. They were there mostly for show. Jaina wanted everyone to know that her evidence were coming from the Jedi's discoveries that past several weeks. Only Jada would briefly discuss about these events.

"This was proven when the Jedi Order sent out one of their own. She had been attacked on her mission to find this information for us. She will be representing the Jedi Order this evening. May I present to the New Republic Council, Lady Jada of the Jedi Order."

Looking out of place, the young Jedi stood up and approached the podium. "Delegates of the Senate, I have come to share with you the findings of my quest. There's been an endless debate among the New Republic, about the loyalty and integrity of the Freedom Alliance. I've come to tell you, that they're trustworthy, and not responsible for any of the attacks on me, during my mission. It is the belief of the Jedi Order that they had nothing to do with the assassinations. They've no intention of rebuilding the Empire like it was during the days of Emperor Palpatine. All they seek is a better relationship with the New Republic.

"Instead, I was attacked by an outside force trying to provoke the civil war among us. Evidence has risen that it may be the doing of a dark lord of the Sith. We've learned that his name is Sithious. I was attacked by his apprentice on Coreilla. The three so-called 'Imperial ships' were his, and if it wasn't for the Freedom Alliance, my friends and I would have been destroyed."

"I object!" Senator Balrosa said, as his pose rose to equal level of the Jedi platform.

"On what grounds, senator?" The Chief of State demanded.

"That the Jedi's evidence is all speculation, and in part, deceitful. I request to question the Jedi about the events, to pull out the real truth at hand."

"The Delegates of Malastare concur with Senator Balrosa. If the senator feels as if this report is inaccurate and if the senator has proof of it, he has the right to question the Jedi of the validity of her story."

"I will allow this in hopes that this will put all your minds at ease; but I warn you, this is not a trial. I will end the line of questioning if your questions get out of hand." The Chief of State conceded, not entirely convinced that he was making the right decision to allow the senator to question the Jedi."

"Thank you, Chief of State." Bolrosa nodded. He turned his attention towards Jada, who was not expecting to answer any questions. Master Skywalker, squirmed in his seat. Jada was unaccustomed to Senate procedure; she was anything but tactful when it came to politics. Why could he not shake the feeling that the Jedi had, yet again, walked into another trap? "Lady Jada, you claimed Imperial government has peaceful endeavors towards us. What evidence do you have to support your claim, other than their word for it? Couldn't it be possible that those three ships _WERE_ his, and couldn't his conveniently-timed rescue be a ploy to trick you?

"I sensed no deception among them," Jada responded.

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't call your feelings evidence. I know you're unfamiliar with politics, but in our world, that's called speculation."

"My friends and I were rescued by Admiral Barkley. According to him, ssomeone has stolen plans for several classes of Imperial warships years ago, but haven't been able to discover who the traitor is, yet."

"What a coincidence! What proof do you have of this claim, other than pure speculation. Other than your Jedi senses, how do you know he wasn't lying to you?"

Bolros allowed those questions to simmer into the heads of the senators. Jada was quickly becoming flustered. The senator knew full well that she was inexperienced when it came to politics, and he was taking full advantage of it. He was not beyond twisting the truth to bend it to his point of view. "You've also said that you were attacked by a Sith on Coreilla, right?"

"Yes, he was a dark lord of the Sith, wielding their trademark red-blade lightsaber, on Coreilla: a system who's delegate, may I add, who believes in revolution like you. Where there's one dark lord, there is another. Will you deny the testimony of one of your own delegates?" Jada asked, pointing up to Wedge's platform. In the corner of her eye, he could see him grimaced as to say that she had made a terrible misstep. Through the Force, she felt her master pretty much matched that sentiment. Was throwing the question back into his face the wrong move?

"I deny nothing," The senator returned. "I did hear about your run in with a dark lord and I have heard you Jedi use that verse before, but I find it to be nothing more than a myth."

"There has to be two, a master and an apprentice,." Jada continued to push back, ignoring the feeling from her master, warning her to retreat.

"We've heard this before, but after Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were destroyed, that should have been the end of the so called Sith, right? How come there's been other Sith since then? Please explain where these dark lords are coming from, if there can only be two."

Jadasuddenly realized her mistake. She had opened the door for the senator to villainize the Jedi. She played right into the senator's hand, and now the Jedi's credibility was about to take a huge hit. She refused to answer his question. If the damage was going to be done, it was not going to come out of her mouth; she was going to make him say it.

Seeing that she refused to answer, he answered it for her. "The Sith are nothing more than fallen Jedi, am I right? For Sith to seemingly come out of nowhere, it is more than likely that one of you Jedi have turned.

"Senator Bolros, what evidence are you trying to attain from the Jedi Knight?" Chief of State Valnor asked, getting impatient with the line of questioning.

The senator held up a datacard "This is what I am presenting," He pressed a button on the podium, and the room dimmed slightly. A gigantic holoimage appeared over the Chief of State's platform. It was holorecording of Anakin and Titinya viewing the communication archives. The Chief of State had blood in his eyes as he gazed angrily towards Master Skywalker, sitting in back of Jaina's pod. He knew his orders were defied.

Luke did not show any emotions, but inside... he was cringing. He took a gamble by allowing the Jedi to do their own investigation, hoping that it would catch Sithious and his spy by surprise. Instead, the Sith Lord had foreseen this move, and acted accordingly. Now, things were worse... much worse.

The holorecording played and the senator started narrating. "One of our security cameras caught these two Jedi in the middle of an investigation. They are viewing a conversation I had with the Chief of State. Now, notice what happens here. Notice how the image of the Chief of State is being distorted, to form another man. That Jedi is splicing the recording, to frame me as being a traitor."

There were gasps from half of the delegates, and confused moans from the other. Jada was at a loss for words. She had no idea how to rebut that kind of accusation. She and the Jedi had been played, and used as pawns in a unfathomable underhanded scheme, which might have just started the war.

She could not imagine how things could get any worse... until the senator continued talking. "The Jedi are busy trying to frame me, but it doesn't end there. What Senator Solo and the Jedi have failed to mention is Senator Solo's two brothers have been on a secret mission, working with Admiral Barkley of the Imperial government. This mission is approved by you, Chief of State Valnor."

Kronos Valnor anger over the accusation was apparent. "I resent that accusation, senator!"

"With all due respect, that is fact, not an accusation. It is factual just as everything that is on the datapads that I had distributed to every delegate here, before this session started. On the datapads, there are more holorecordings and holodocuments of your and the Jedi's involvement with the Imperial government. On these pads, there's more than enough information to prove that this administration, and the Jedi are conspiring with the Imperial government to establish a new galactic empire."

"None of this is true!" Jaina screamed, jumping to her feet, but her voice was drowned by the uproar that the accusation had brought. Delegates were throwing insults and threatening each other; all chaos had broken out. President Bolros folded his arms in front of him and grin, satisfied of his accomplishment.

"Silence!" The Chief of State screamed at the top of his lungs, but it was't enough. The session was out of control.

Luke heard Jaina through the Force, with fear and sadness painted on her face. "Uncle Skywalker, you and the Jedi must leave Coruscant immediately, before harm comes to you."


End file.
